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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24006643">How My Brother And I Kidnapped An Assassin</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/jongkey_krisho/pseuds/jongkey_krisho'>jongkey_krisho</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Happy Ending, M/M, Medieval Times AU, Romance, Royalty AU, a LOT of minor ships, action au, but it is, except in asia, im not thinking today, just imagine europe or something, like yuwin doil norenmin xiaokun, minor smut probably, they are definetly there but if you want mainly them sorry bud, they have technology tho, yall i forgot luwoo is a minor ship too, you may get sick of me always putting happy ending</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 22:41:42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>35,124</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24006643</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/jongkey_krisho/pseuds/jongkey_krisho</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Donghyuck’s brother, Johnny, has somehow managed to snag a job in the palace as the role of a lowly assistant, but hey, a job was a job. When an attempted assassination on the king, however, also caused Donghyuck to almost get killed in the process, the two escape to the countryside for help, unknowingly bringing one of the assassins with them, Mark. The two go through struggles of survival, family, and romance while trying to deal with the revolution going on in their world – and what they can do of it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Lee Taeyong, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Liu Yang Yang/Wong Kun Hang | Hendery, Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>156</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Seo Brothers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/wae/gifts">wae</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Johnny was somewhat of an oddball, in Donghyuck’s opinion. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His brother was only older than him by two years, but Johnny’s height, appearance, and overprotective personality has made him come off as older. Some people have even congratulated him on looking so young while being a single father. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Come on, Johnny didn’t look </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>old. But no matter, people always treated Donghyuck as some cute thing, a younger ball of fluff that must instantly display aegyo on command. Which is exactly what Doyoung was doing to him right now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While Johnny did his job at the palace, Donghyuck was under the watchful eye of Doyoung, Johnny’s friend since they were schoolmates. Doyoung mostly did homework in the living room, letting Donghyuck do his shenanigans like usual in the apartment, only alone this time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck had asked Johnny why he needed someone to take care of him while Johnny worked. It has always been like this; Johnny had slaved away doing part time jobs while finishing preparatory school but yet wouldn’t leave Donghyuck alone. Even though Donghyuck was now sixteen, just like Johnny two years ago, Johnny still wouldn’t let him get a job and insisted he must be under watch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s not that Johnny thought that Donghyuck couldn’t defend himself; he could. The two would playfully wrestle with each other all the time, and Donghyuck could throw a nasty punch. However, since Johnny now worked at the palace, there would be some enemies against him and might do something to Donghyuck. This happened a year before Johnny worked, where apparently someone found out some workers in the palace and murdered them in their home. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well, it’s a good thing Doyoung was taking care of him. Doyoung could stare at someone until they died. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now, though, Doyoung was staring at Donghyuck, waiting for the other to do some shit, like puff his cheeks and smile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Please, Donghyuck, you never smile around me,” Doyoung pouted. “You got to do </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How about no.” Donghyuck reached over for the screwdriver and tightened the screw on the little contraption he was building. Donghyuck knew nothing about building, but for his birthday, Johnny had bought him some kits on how to build certain stuff. The one he was currently doing was a small robot; Johnny would be sad if Donghyuck finished it without him, so he wasn’t going to complete all the steps just yet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine, it’s your facial features, your choice.” Doyoung put his books aside (he actually managed to get into the university; he was really smart) and got up, heading to the kitchen. “Do you want dinner or is it a no?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe later.” Donghyuck stuck his tongue out, staring intently at the next piece he was trying to add. He wasn’t even paying attention to Doyoung. “I’ll wait ‘till Johnny comes back.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Doyoung sighed. “He’s probably working late again, you know.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, I’ll just have to sleep late I guess,” Donghyuck said. “This wiring is going to take a while.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m </span>
  </em>
  <span>stealing your bread loaves, for your information.” Doyoung got up from his spot of the couch and headed straight to the kitchen, rummaging through the bread cabinet. “Why are there only bagels?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They were on sale,” was the only thing Donghyuck said while he worked on another screw. A lot of the screws were tiny and thin, so it was a lot of work to hold them steady. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Doyoung shrugged, grabbing one that appeared to have dehydrated berries in it, taking a bite as he opened the ice box and grabbed a milk bottle. “Do you want milk? It’s about to expire soon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck shook his head. “I don’t eat or drink when I’m making stuff, the last thing I need is to electrocute myself.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Doyoung sat back down on the couch, taking a sip of the milk. “Okay, what do I have to do to make you do aegyo?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not doing aegyo – dang, I’m missing some screws.” Donghyuck grabbed a box from the shelf behind him, one filled with different cartons of nails and screws. “Let’s see-"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on, there has to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>something!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Doyoung shrieked. “Is there not one thing in the world that you would like to have?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>My parents back</span>
  </em>
  <span> Donghyuck really wanted to say, but since Doyoung wasn’t a necromancer, Donghyuck merely said, “I want Johnny to give me a tour of the palace.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the- I can’t do that!” Doyoung screeched, almost spilling his milk. “You know how adamant Johnny is about that stuff!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then no aegyo,” Donghyuck finalized. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, wait-“</span>
  <span></span>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The small Kingdom was run by the Park family, just the King, Queen and their son, Prince Jisung. The kingdom had a few main cities other than the vast country sides, but Johnny and Donghyuck happened to live in the main one, Neo City, where the palace was located. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck had no idea how Johnny got his job at the palace; he wasn’t even sure what he did. Johnny always said he did errands and such, but there wasn’t really a specific job title. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>work late all the time, but other than that, Johnny didn’t really complain much about his job. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>From the stories that Johnny would tell him, he had never met the royal family, but he has met with the King’s first adviser. An asshole, Johnny had described him, but he told Donghyuck to never use that word. The last thing they wanted was to be executed for treason. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>However, during Johnny’s time in the palace, he had made another friend (it was to be expected – Johnny made friends everywhere.) He had a short and easy name to remember, Ten, and he was one of the main doctors in the palace. Really young to be a doctor, but was apparently a genius. He went to study medicine at the age of-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh, his name was a pun! That made sense.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But yes. Johnny made a friend. Although Donghyuck had a feeling it was going to be something more. Why? Because Johnny freaking woke up at up 7 am on a </span>
  <em>
    <span>Saturday </span>
  </em>
  <span>to clean the house before Ten came over. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their apartment may be cramped, but it’s not like it was dirty. Well, it got dirty often, but they would always clean up their mess no matter what. One time Johnny bought a big bag of flour on sale, but when he dragged it to the kitchen, he didn’t realize there was a hole in it, and the house was practically covered in white powder for a good three days. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Okay, so maybe their house was a </span>
  <em>
    <span>little </span>
  </em>
  <span>dirty.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t the </span>
  <em>
    <span>bad </span>
  </em>
  <span>type of dirty thought; more like, the type of dirty that shows that people actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>live </span>
  </em>
  <span>there. Still, though, there was something about Ten that made Donghyuck’s brother wake up at freaking 7. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It turned out Ten wasn’t even coming until-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ten comes at ten. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck is starting to wonder if this Ten person is made up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He rolled around in his bed, covering his ears with his pillow as he heard Johnny shout while banging the walls. He was probably dusting them. Again. For the third time that morning. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sadly, sleep had left his side, so he threw off his covers and put on his slippers, eyelids still half-closed. He was going to make sure that Johnny would get an earful from him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He slowly walked out of his room and was greeting with the sight of Johnny dusting the walls, yes, dusting them. Come on, their apartment didn’t have </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>much dust in them, what the hell was wrong with him?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Johnny!” Donghyuck screeched. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny threw the duster into the small closet they had in the foyer. “Hey, how was sleep last night?” he nonchalantly asked while grabbing the bucket he had on the floor. He pulled out a rag and squeezed it, the water and soap coming up. He didn’t even wait until it was done when he started anxiously scrubbing the walls. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Bold of you I went to sleep, why the heck are you up so early?!” Donghyuck yelled at his older brother. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I told you, we have a guest later!” Johnny moved to another section of the wall, the one behind the couch, and continued scrubbing, some water droplets falling on the sofa. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Johnny, be careful, for goodness sake.” Donghyuck grabbed the paper towel roll Johnny had put on the floor next to a bunch of other cleaning supplies. “If you’re going to clean, do it properly, why are you so anxious anyways?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who said I was anxious?!” Johnny put the rag back into the bucket and set it aside. “Do you know what time is it, I have to start cooking the rice at 9-“</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Johnny.” Donghyuck grabbed his brother’s arm and pushed him towards the kitchen. “Let me clean, gosh, do whatever you want in the kitchen-“</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But it has to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>perfect</span>
  </em>
  <span>-“</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Johnny, how much perfect can this place </span>
  <em>
    <span>get?!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Donghyuck yelled at him. “Make me an omelet while you’re on it, aish.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny and Donghyuck each had their respective roles in the tiny apartment – Donghyuck cleaned and Johnny cooked and worked. Sure, Donghyuck could cook okay, he supposed, and he loved to bake, but Johnny was the one who could whip up ten different types of meals with four ingredients. This same Johnny, however, thought you could clean wood with water. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck took a look around the living room. It wasn’t even a mess – Johnny had put all the stuff away and arranged the bookshelf correctly. There was a crumb, here or there, but nothing that required waking up freaking </span>
  <em>
    <span>three </span>
  </em>
  <span>hours early. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck finished in less than ten minutes while Johnny screamed about whether the bread loaves were good enough or not. Donghyuck spent the next hour and a half calming Johnny down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When the so-called Ten finally came, Donghyuck talked to him for a few minutes until he went back to room, finally going back to sleep again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck was sort of an oddball, in Johnny’s opinion. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To be fair, though, Donghyuck changed a lot after their parent’s death, but no matter how much Johnny tried to be there for him, nothing seemed to work. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The good thing was that Donghyuck was doing a bit better now, but still kind of, well, how could Johnny say it – reserved. He went to being someone who could speak anything on his mind to, well, not anymore. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Often, whenever the two were out in public, the people would tell him compliments on everything about Donghyuck, about how he was a nice boy, his behavior, even his looks (Johnny also took pride in that – they were the good-looking Seo Brothers after all), but that always made Donghyuck uncomfortable. He stopped going to those places with Johnny altogether. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He also doesn’t do aegyo anymore, which always earns him a pout from Johnny. As the younger sibling,  you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>supposed </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be cute, it’s your job. When they were younger, Donghyuck always did it, no questions asked, matter of fact, he </span>
  <em>
    <span>loved </span>
  </em>
  <span>the attention he received from it. Now? Not so much. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Although 16 was an age of weirdness, so maybe that’s why Donghyuck was odd. It’s just a phase, Johnny would remind himself; he just had to remember to show continuous support towards his brother and that he was still there with him, and everything would turn out fine. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Like the electronics. Donghyuck had been showing an interest in how so many gadgets work, so Johnny would constantly bring little projects that his brother could work on. Donghyuck certainly looked happy while working with those. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny considered themselves to be happy. Well, him at least. That’s what mattered, right?</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Model TY</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>sorry for updating two chapters at once, but i wanted to give you guys some background before anything major happened. (**cough cough i know i have too many stories in progress cough cough**) I hope you guys like this story! if you want any updates you can follow my twitter @jongkey_krisho</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The royal adviser, Lee-eun, was getting impatient waiting for Jung Jaehyun, the royal scientist. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had sent him a secret project for him to work on ages ago, and Jaehyun had promised to show him progress today. However, he was waiting for Jaehyun at his lab and he was nowhere to be found. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe he’s probably running a few errands, sir, you know how busy that fellow can be,” his assistant, Jeno, reminded him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He promised to show me the prototypes today and I do not have time to be wasted!” Lee-eun yelled at him, hitting him with his clipboard. Jeno raised a hand to touch his face and winced at how sore it had gotten. “You fool. You don’t know anything about professionalism-“</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The door to the lab suddenly opened, Jaehyun looking startled at the two. “Hello, Sir, why didn’t you informed me that you were present?” he asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lee-eun looked like he wanted to blow a fuse, yet his voice remained stable. “Why, we did, sir, we knocked on your door plentiful of times!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun shook his head. “You’re supposed to ring the doorbell,” he said, pointing to a small circle next to the door. “I can’t hear anyone knocking from inside.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun opened the door wider and went inside, making Lee-eun and Jeno follow him in. They passed through the small foyer and were faced with the sight of the entire lab inside. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The whole room had white walls and was well-organized (definitely more organized than usual – Jaehyun was a scientist, he was always messy.) There were many sets of lab tables with different inventions and samples on them, and the main desk was covered with stacks of books and papers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Near the front of the room, next to the chalkboard, was a small wooden table with four sets of chairs around it. One of the chairs was inhabited by a man, with red hair and a slit on their eyebrow. They didn’t speak at all, instead, hands folded on their lap and staring intently at the newcomers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My, I didn’t know you replaced your student,” Lee-eun said. “Although it was to be expected, he was tough to handle.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jaemin?” Jaehyun asked. “Nah, he’s not fired, he just went to get some supplies for me. This,” he motioned to the man sitting, who had yet to make a commotion. “is Taeyong.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Having finally been introduced, Taeyong bowed down his head in respect. “Pleasure to be acquainted,” he said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I hope you finally had made progress on what you’ve been assigned,” Lee-eun reminded Jaehyun. “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>have </span>
  </em>
  <span>been working on them, have you?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun wanted to laugh. “Sir, you’re looking at him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, excuse me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, he’s one of the five prototypes,” Jaehyun reassured him. “Known as the TY model, but that can be a handful so I call him Taeyong for short.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lee-eun walked closer to Taeyong and gave him a look-over. “So you can control him?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I mean, yeah, but he’s in his normal mode right now,” Jaehyun said.  “Follow me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun took them to one of the doors in the lab and keyed in his pass code and fingerprint, which allowed him access. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The room was much smaller than the main room of the lab, but the sight of this one was much more surprising. For there in the back of the room, were five tanks, four of them being occupied each by someone in an unconscious state. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“These are known as models K, R, L, and M,” Jaehyun said, pointing to each one respectively. “And Taeyong is model TY. So far, Taeyong has been passing all the tests but I have yet to wake up the other models from their state.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How do you manage to control them, though?” Lee-eun asked him, staring intently at the four figures asleep in their tanks. The models in the tanks didn’t appear to be submerged in any kind of liquid, but they had some needles coming out of their backs. “Any kind of device?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun sat down in front of the desk in the room, which had a series of screens attached to the wall in front of them. He put the headphone set around his ears and typed a series of pass codes on the keyboard. “To prevent it from getting in the wrong hands, I had set it up so that they could only be controlled here,” he explained. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After pressing a certain button, one of the screens turned to a cam, showing the sight of the room they were in, more specifically, them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, what is it that you just turned on?” Lee-eun asked him. He turned around to face the room. “There’s cameras in this room?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course I have cameras, but this isn’t a typical camera,” Jaehyun explained. “Cover your face,” he shouted at the microphone on his headset. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Instantly, Taeyong lifted his hands to cover his face, and the screen that had acted like a camera turned dark, with hands blocking the view. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s a chip on their back that allows them to carry out orders since it sends it to the nerves on their spinal cord, up to the brain,” Jaehyun said. “This specific screen allows you to receive input on what Taeyong’s senses are picking up, and these other screens are for the other models.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He turned off the control mode from Taeyong and turned off the computer system. “I have added a lot of security measures so that they don’t get controlled by the wrong person, but I am hoping they can be used to aid the greater good. They have so much knowledge in their brain, they can be used in so many professions, they can help detect certain people and dangers, can aid with labor, so much good things, I am really excited-“</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah, when will you have it done?” Lee-eun interrupted him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, certainly in a month,” Jaehyun said. “They all need to be tested, and I have some bugs and glitches to work out, for example, model R is a lot shorter than what I expected, but that’s not a big issue, I’m more concerned how their organs will work once they get off the life supports, Taeyong is doing really well, but-“</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I want them done in a month, like promised.” Lee-eun made his way to the door, giving the prototypes one last look. “Jeno! Hurry up, fool, we don’t have all day.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeno had been staring at model R until he hurried over. “I’m sorry sir!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Idiot.” They closed the door behind them, leaving Jaehyun alone with Taeyong. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun couldn’t help but smile at Taeyong. “You’re going to do so much good, I can feel it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Gold?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, sir.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Solution C?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, sir.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Slice of cake?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaemin looked at Jaehyun, his mouth covered in frosting. “My apologies, sir.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No worries, get some more slices from the fridge, will you?” Jaehyun said. He grabbed the small pile of gold coins and the tube with Solution C (just a random mixture of chemicals that Jaehyun had asked Jaemin to mix together) and set them down on the table, Taeyong staring at him the entire time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He handed the pile of coins to Taeyong. “Carry these for me, please,” he asked, Taeyong carrying them cautiously. “Now, can you tell me the weight of these?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Around 11.352 ounces collectively,” Taeyong responded, earning a smile from Jaehyun. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaemin came back with the cake, staring at Taeyong wide-eyed. “That’s so cool! How did he do that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The receptors in his hands and body are highly advanced,” Jaehyun assured him. He took the coins from Taeyong and set them back on the table. “Now, I’m going to pour some of this solution on your hand,” Jaehyun said, opening the vial and pouring a small drop on his palm. “Can you tell me the concentration?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“70% dihydrogen monoxide, 5% sodium chloride, 5% glucose, and 20% hydrochloride-“</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hydrochlo- shit, I forgot I added bleach,” Jaehyun said. “Well, it won’t corrode your skin in small amounts.” He grabbed one of the plates that Jaemin had prepared with cake and took a bite. “Yo, this is actually pretty good.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Taeil made it, it’s delicious,” Jaemin said, grabbing another slice for himself. “I’ll asked his assistant for more later.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s a good idea.” Jaehyun took another forkful and held it out for Taeyong. “Here, try it.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong hesitated, but leaned forward and took the bite anyways, chewing on it slowly. Since he got many nutrients from one of the needles, he didn’t need food, although it didn’t hurt his body to grab some – he was human, after all, although made in a lab, but still the same human DNA. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After swallowing, he asked Jaehyun, “Do you want me to tell you the composition, sir?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I just wanted you to try it,” Jaehyun said. “Although Taeil didn’t add poison, did he?” he asked, causing Jaemin to spit out his cake.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No signs of poison or diseases, but unhealthy amount of sugar,” Taeyong said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s the point,” Jaehyun said. “It’s dessert, it’s supposed to be unhealthy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why would anyone choose to eat unhealthy?” Taeyong asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While Jaemin continued to eat another slice of cake, thankful that Taeil isn’t out to get them, Jaehyun sat down in front of Taeyong. “Dessert is one of those pleasures in life that give humans joy,” he explained. “Maybe it’s not healthy, but it doesn’t harm us to have some every once in a while.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Eating excessive sugar can lead to diabetes, heart-“</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, let’s not traumatized poor Jaemin here, shall we?” Jaehyun interrupted him. He already had three bowls of chips today and no actual meals, the last thing he wanted to feel was how unhealthy the cake was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, sir,” Taeyong replied, bowing down his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It hit Jaehyun why he felt a bit uneasy about model TY – he was extremely apologetic and reserved, always waiting for instructions even though he wasn’t in control mode, like a robot (although those were very rare). Humans don’t usually act like that, and although Taeyong had some technology in his body, he’s still human. Are the wires somehow interfering with his brain even when the control disc isn’t in use, or just how the DNA evolved him to be? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He jumped out of his seat and took his notebook. “Jaemin, get me another model quick. I think we have another bug in our hands.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaemin look a bit surprised, but knew it was coming eventually – they had to test all the models, after all. Taeyong also showed signs of being surprised, wondering what he did wrong. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun had to remember to write that as well, although he felt a bit bad for making Taeyong feel that way. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, don’t worry, Taeyongie,” he said, ruffling Taeyong’s hair. “It’s not you, I think I did something. No, you’ll always be perfect to me.”</span>
  <span></span>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The breakout happened a few days later. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>By then, they had only done tests on Model R, per Jaemin’s request. Jaehyun had decided that Model TY was ready to go, but for safety reasons, he can never have two models out at the same time. Not that Taeyongie could hurt anyone, but that was just Jaehyun’s protocols. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Model R did prove to have it’s – no, his – own personality. A bit snarky and sassy, but still kindhearted in Jaehyun’s opinion. He did bite Jaemin’s finger, but mostly because Jaemin was standing a bit too close. Understandable – the guy just had boundaries, they should be respected. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t even two days when Jaemin said he was in love. When Jaehyun asked him about Jeno, all Jaemin said was “I can love two people if I want to.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And that was that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The weird part was that the breakout wasn’t because of Model R – it was Model K. Model K hasn’t even been brought to consciousness yet, and there was no one in the lab that could turn him on. Only Jaehyun had that ability, and it was more than some passwords and fingerprint – when scanning your finger, it also secretly took a blood sample, and it had to match Jaehyun’s DNA. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So someone breaking into the lab was out. And even if the model was distinct enough to wake up on its own, how did it break the bulletproof glass? No human should have strength to break through. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For now, Jaehyun was positive of two things. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>One, he only had four prototypes now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And two, he had a likely chance of getting fired now.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm</p><p>no spoilers</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Surprises</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>YALL SAW THE PUNCH TEASERS I WANT TO SCREAMMMMMM</p><p>i wrote this ff like a few months ago, so i have some chapters ready, updates will be quick at first</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Today was the big day! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a few weeks, Johnny had finally, </span>
  <em>
    <span>finally, </span>
  </em>
  <span>caved in to Donghyuck’s demand (with help of Doyoung nagging Johnny, of course). So now, Johnny was finally going to let Donghyuck take a visit to the palace. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t because it was full of money and important people and expensive stuff, no no, although that would be cool to see too. No, Donghyuck’s main reason to visit – </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was big. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was about it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had always loved exploring ever since he could remember, but of course, he had been stuck inside for far too long. It was pretty boring staying cooped up all day, alone in the apartment, and how he so longed to be able to run through long corridors, cobblestones, pathways in the forest, being able to listen to many noises and sounds at once and being presented with many options on where to turn. Not like their apartment where you could find Johnny’s socks every five seconds. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck had only been to the forest once in his life, and it had been a life-changing experience for him. Granted, he was only seven during that time, but it had not only been with Johnny, but also their two parents. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It had been one of the happiest memories that Donghyuck had ever had, and he hasn’t had a memory like that for a few years now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Until today. Yes, today would become a very happy memory for him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He jumped out of bed, not even bothering to put on his slippers as he marched out of his room and rapidly knocked on Johnny’s bedroom door. “Johnny!! Johnny Johnny Johnny wake up!! Johnny!!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t hear any commotion happening inside, so he turned the knob, delighted that it wasn’t locked – Johnny never locked his door, but those rare moments when he </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>lock it, Donghyuck could swear he could hear someone leave the apartment in the morning. Why Johnny would let people sleepover and not tell Donghyuck, he had no clue, but his brother wasn’t as smart as he thought he was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He opened the door and launched himself onto the bed, not caring that there was someone beneath him. “Wake up!! Johnny!!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny immediately yelped in response, scrambling to get off the bed. “WHAT THE FUCK?!!?” he yelled, pushing Donghyuck onto the ground. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ignoring the fact that his brother said a bad word, Donghyuck yelled when his head fell on the floor. “Ow, why did you push me?!” He yelled at his older brother. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think you broke a rib!” Johnny yelled. “What’s got you throwing yourself onto my bed so early?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck pouted. “You promised to take me to the palace today,” he whined. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s seven in the morning!! I promised to take you at noon!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck squinted his eyes and glared at Johnny. “Right that it doesn’t feel good to wake up so early? Right Johnny? Right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny was taken aback. What the hell was his brother talking about? “What are you referring to?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Remember when you started cleaning the house before the freaking crack of dawn all those weeks ago?!” Donghyuck screeched. “Plus I wanna go </span>
  <em>
    <span>now~</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny really wanted to go back to sleep, but when he remembered that he could see a certain someone, he forced himself to get out of bed. “If you broke my spine, I’m kicking you out.”</span>
  <span></span>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaemin entered the lab, balancing three containers of cake and one of cookies in his hands.  “Are you sure it’s a good idea to turn them all one?” he asked Jaehyun. “What if they suddenly decided to overthrow us?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun waved him down. “Nah, I trust them, keep an eye on Model R, though.” He took the containers from Jaemin and set them down on the table. “This sure calls for a celebration.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaemin crossed his arms and pouted. “If only Lee-eun wasn’t a meanie and let Jeno be here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ll save him a slice of cake,” Jaehyun reassured him. “Hey, did you guys come up with a name to call Model R? I feel like I’m dehumanizing him every time I say that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeno and Jaemin had taken a liking to Model R, so Jaehyun gave them the right to name him. He had yet to come up with names for Models L and M, and of course now that Model K was out of the picture, he couldn’t exactly give him a name either. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, we did decide on a name for him,” Jaemin said. He ran back to the side desk, his personal spot, scrambling to find his folder. “I had the slip right here-“</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t remember what it is?” Jaehyun asked him, confused. Did they not decide it together? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s just – I don’t know how to spell it – ah, here it is!” Jaemin rushed back to Jaehyun and handed it to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun frowned and blinked, staring at the incredulous slip. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh, Jaemin, you gave me something in Chinese.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaemin’s face lit up. “Renjun. He developed an interest to Chinese culture, so we decided to call him Renjun.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Interesting. Jaehyun would have to write that down in his notebook under observations. He remembers how Mod-he meant Renjun had taken a liking for baozis and wonton soup.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had given the models the ability to speak a multitude of languages, but while Taeyong and Model M had done everything in Korean, he had noticed that Model L spoke a foreign language when he was talking to himself (another interesting observation – Model L talked to himself a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lot</span>
  </em>
  <span>), and when Jaehyun brought in a language expert, it had been revealed to be Cantonese. Renjun also found Mandarin an interesting concept. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was amazing how diverse all the prototypes had turned out, from their personality and behaviors to their interests. Jaehyun had created their entire DNA out of scratch using a variety of algorithms, and it was astonishing how they had turned out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun went into the secret room while Jaemin set up the desserts, logging into the computer to wake them up from the conscious states. It always took a while – he had to open the glass cases first, then manually remove the wires, and then access a series of codes for them to wake up. He always set them in control mode to make them unconscious, since the last thing he needed was for them to be awake and realize they were stuck in glass cases. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>First he went to Taeyong, being extremely careful so that the needles wouldn’t puncture any of his skin. Taeyong had really smooth skin, Jaehyun’s favorite observations so far. So soft and warm, even though he had been unconscious. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was starting to sound like a creep. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>By the time he awoke Taeyong and set him to normal mode, the latter giving him the usual greetings, he helped him step out of the glass case and went to work on Renjun. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you excited to meet everyone, Taeyongie?” Jaehyun asked him, keying in the passcode for Renjun’s glass case to unlock. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong tilted his head, confused. “Am I supposed to be excited?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, you can be whatever you want, but I get excited when I meet new people,” Jaehyun said. “And all of you guys have worked so hard, it’ll be nice for you guys to finally meet. What do you feel?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong didn’t answer him for a bit, choosing to watch Jaehyun remove the wires and needles from Renjun’s back. “Terrified,” he answered at last. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s also expected,” Jaehyun said. “Don’t worry, the others are nice, just don’t coddle Renjun here, he’ll bite you-“ </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just then, Lee-eun had entered the room, a frightened Jeno and a confused Jaemin tagging behind him. “My, my, Jaehyun, why wasn’t I informed that we were going to bring everyone together today?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun ran to the computer to wake Renjun up from unconsciousness, Taeyong heading over to help Renjun get out. “I have no idea what you’re doing here, but I have decided that it’s time that they meet-“</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lovely, lovely, anyways.” Lee-eun inched closer to where the computers were. “Are they in control mode right now?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, they’ll be normal for today unless one of them gets aggressive, which I don’t think so, they are all so lovely-“ Jaehyun continued to ramble as he set out to get Model L out. “I still need to come up with a name with an L, maybe we can give him a nickname for now-“</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I asked some locals for some Cantonese names,” Jaemin suggested. “There were no good ones with L, though-“</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re really acting like these are some live people, Sir Jaehyun.” Lee-eun said, sitting down comfortably at the table in the room. “You’re getting attached.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They’re people with feelings, you know,” Jaehyun reminded him, taking out the wires from Model L. “And they’re not robots either, they just have some technology implanted-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Better get working on that glitch, then.” Lee-eun lifted his feet up to the table. “It’ll make them sensitive.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s not a flaw, so I see no point.” Jaehyun worked on bringing Model L to consciousness, ignoring Lee-eun’s asshole comments. He’ll have to reassure his friends that it’s all a bunch of bullshit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A smirk appeared on Lee-eun’s face. “Guards.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just like that, 5 guards had entered the room, arms ready and pointing at Jaehyun. They weren’t wearing the royal blue and black colors of the kingdom, though – it was more like black and green. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Lee-eun, what are you doing?” Jaehyun asked him, stepping in front of Taeyong, Renjun, and newly awakened Model L. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lee-eun lifted his legs off the table, clasping his hands in front of him. “As much as I’d loved to kill you, the sad truth is, you’re the only competent person in this kingdom who can do what I ask. However, if you dare defy me, I wouldn’t hesitate to arrest you for treason."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun took a step back, trying to shield the three behind him. “What do you want?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wake up model whatever,” Lee-eun commanded. “We need all four.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun slowly went to the computer, typing in commands. “Jaemin, give me a Cantonese name,” he said, the glass case for Model M unlocking. “It doesn’t have to start with an L.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaemin and Jeno had been clutching each other near the back of the room, frightened. “Yukhei,” he stuttered out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun worked on removing the wires from Model M’s back. “Jeno, give me a Korean name,” he asked calmly, ignoring the fact that there were eleven pairs of eyes watching his every move. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeno was shivering a lot, a lot more than Jaemin. He knew something, Jaehyun figured, and it wasn’t good news. “Minhyung." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“’Kay.” Jaehyun woke Model M from unconsciousness. “Hello, Minhyung,” he said, helping the confused Minhyung get out, having no idea what’s going on. “Meet your brothers Taeyong, Renjun and Yukhei."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now that the hit men have awoken,” Lee-eun interrupted, “Jaehyun, have a seat on the computer.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun turned to give him a look. “Did you call them </span>
  <span><em>hit men</em>?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sit down Jaehyun,” Lee-eun said. “Put them in control mode.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun sat down, opening up the screens and putting each of the four into control mode, four different screens lighting up. He turned around and saw how rigid the four prototypes had turned into, their eyes filled with void, waiting for instructions. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you recall, they're having a private gala today that the public doesn’t know about? No reporters around to suspect anything,” Lee-eun said. “Tell them to kill the royal family and anyone who stands in their way.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How did you manage to get the day off, Johnny?” Donghyuck asked on their way to the palace. He had practically been skipping the entire time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Top secret,” Johnny said, trying to catch up with Donghyuck. “Basically there’s an event and my boss wanted to attend. They don’t know I’m bringing you, so if anyone asks, you’re helping me out. They love free labor.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Got it.” Donghyuck practically wanted to scream when the main gates came in sight. The palace was so big that it could be seen far away, which is why it had been taking them forever. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>By the time they arrived, Johnny had to present a series of documents to the guards stationed so that they could grant them access, leading them to one of the side doors that employees had to use. That meant a whole other lot of walking, but Donghyuck was bursting at the seams with adrenaline. Nothing could dampen his mood.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once they entered the premises, Donghyuck couldn’t help but marvel at everything, and by everything, he meant </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They already knew that the palace was the biggest thing in the kingdom, but it was another thing to see it so up close. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they reached the front door and stepped foot inside the castle, he had to gawk at everything. It was so </span>
  <em>
    <span>grand</span>
  </em>
  <span>, so expensive, so antique and noble like. The gigantic chandeliers hanging up from the ceiling, the series of arts and portraits decorating the perfectly polished walls, the </span>
  <em>
    <span>furniture</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The palace must have its own map and maze, Donghyuck wondered. Oh, how cool it would be to explore everywhere!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny had to call him multiple times to get his attention, and Donghyuck would have to run up to him to catch up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where are we going?” Donghyuck asked him, marveled at how Johnny knew his way around. His brother must be very smart.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I thought you might be hungry, </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> I know my favorite baker is in today, so maybe we can ‘borrow’ a snack first,” Johnny explained. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Isn’t stealing from the palace punishable by death?” Donghyuck asked, confused. Johnny wasn’t a rule breaker.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, come on, we’re not going to die for ‘borrowing’ a croissant,” Johnny told him. He grabbed his younger brother’s hand and pulled him forward. “We have no time to waste.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>to clear up confusion: they are NOT androids, they are human, they just have some technology in them that gives them enhance abilities and the ability to be controlled</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Bad Timing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>PUNCH IS COMING</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The croissant </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>delicious. In fact, it was so delicious that it was worth dying for. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The baker, a guy around Johnny’s age who went by the name Taeil, apparently always made desserts for the people in the palace, including the royal family. The young Prince Jisung was known to sneak in the kitchen at midnight for chocolate donuts, but only if they had sprinkles. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck must have had like five croissants, all with different fillings. Taeil and his assistant, a Chinese immigrant who went by Si Cheng, had been making a variety of pastries for the so-called private gala tonight. He didn’t even know that croissants with </span>
  <em>
    <span>raspberries </span>
  </em>
  <span>existed, and yet here he was eating one. You learn something new every day. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>During their time there, when Si Cheng brought in a cart with supplies, Donghyuck could see two boys hiding between the flour bags but held his tongue. He didn’t exactly agree that you should die for stealing, and he was no snitch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Afterwards, Johnny then took him to the hospital wing while pointing out different things on their way there. Johnny even knew at least two secret passageways, one where he goes to take a nap. Donghyuck will have to remember to check them out one day. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In the hospital wing, Johnny knocked on one of the small doors. “Ten! It’s me, I brought my brother!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The door opened to reveal the familiar short male. “Hey, how’s it going?” Ten said, closing the door behind him. He was in a doctor’s coat, so this was probably his office. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just showing the fam the ropes, you know,” Johnny explained. “I got him croissants.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ten pouted. “You didn’t bring me any.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stealing in the palace is a crime punishable by death, you know,” Johnny quoted Donghyuck from earlier. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You think I care about death here? It was Taeil’s pastries, wasn’t it? You think death is going to stop me from his blueberry and cream cheese croissants?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, those were really good!” Donghyuck exclaimed. He remembers eating two of those, right when Si Cheng pulled the batch from the oven. He would have grabbed a third but then they made cherry ones.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ten crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m offended.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Anyways, I wanted to see if you were free right now,” Johnny said. “Donghyuck wants to explore the palace and you have more access to certain areas, plus you’ve been here longer.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ten shook his head. “I’m sorry, but due to private circumstances-“</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The private gala-“</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah that.” Ten sighed. “I really can’t, you know the rules. What if someone tries to kill the king or something? I have to be there for aid.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No one’s going to attempt anything today,” Johnny said. “Well, I’ll come back later and see if you’re still busy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Only if you freaking bring me a croissant.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Two Chinese boys stumbled their way out of the kitchen and hid beneath the staircase.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is so cool!” the elder one said. “The palace from the inside looks ten times better than what the magazines show!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, Yangyang, you had your view, now can we get out of here?” the younger one asked. “What if we get in trouble?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>going to get in trouble, Chen Le, you need to stop worrying,” Yangyang waved him off. “Besides, we’re going to be careful, no one will catch us.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They stayed there for a bit, waiting till the coast was clear before they continued to walk down the corridors. There were guards at every corner, and you only had to take one look at them and the rags they called clothing to know that they didn’t belong here in the palace. However, Yangyang, as an avid fan of the royal family, the palace, and everything grand, had claimed that it was necessary for him to come and visit as he may never have the chance again. Chen Le had no choice but to comply with his best friend. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They moved around a bit, with Yangyang always marveling at everything and ranting about everything. Chen Le had no clue what the latter was saying, but Yangyang was just so happy and energetic that Chen Le didn’t have the heart to tell him that he was zoning out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They had been walking for around twenty minutes when Chen Le heard someone clear their throat behind them. Startled, he turned around and was faced with a tall, lanky guy dressed up nicely. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you guys lost?” the guy asked them. “Is something going on?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yangyang turned around to see who Chen Le was looking at and froze, not even blinking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re not doing anything in particular, uh…” he reached out to shake Yangyang. “I told you we were dead,” he muttered under his breath so that the guy couldn’t hear them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yangyang remained unresponsive to Chen Le, instead, staring at the new guy with his eyes wide open. “You-you’re-you’re-“ was all he managed to sputter out before he fainted.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yangyang!” Chen Le bent down to check on his friend, who was now laying on the ground. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you want me to take him to the infirmary?” The guy asked him. He bent down and lifted Yangyang’s body to a sitting-up position. He lifted up an eyelid, Yangyang’s pupil not dilating in response. “He’ll be fine.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know why he did that,” Chen Le said. “Wait, do you work here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh…..sort of, but I don’t really do anything,” the guy admitted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What a nice job that would be,” Chen Le muttered under his breath. “Where’s the infirmary?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, here, I can just-“ the guy lifted up Yangyang and threw him over his shoulder. “I can just carry him there, no worries.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two made their way to the infirmary, with the stranger leading the way. He seemed to know this place pretty well, Chen Le thought. Did the guy know that they broke into the palace? He hasn’t asked what they were doing – well, he did, but then Yangyang fainted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So your friend here is… Yangyang, if I remember correctly?” the guy asked him. “Doesn’t sound Korean.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s cause we’re not,” Chen Le informed him. “We’re Chinese."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, what brings you here to the Kingdom of Korea?” The man lifted up Yangyang higher for him not to fall, while Yangyang still did not wake up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Starvation.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The guy stopped in his tracks. “Really.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, both immigrants,” Chen Le said. “Don’t tell the king I said that, I’ll get thrown in jail.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, come on, the king isn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>bad,” the guy reassured him, even though he knew it was probably true. The China and Korea kingdoms don’t have good relations with each other at the moment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh really?” Chen Le always tried not to judge anyone that he’s never met, but it was a little hard to do it on the royal family, considering they were well off. He still had no idea why Yangyang worshipped them so much. Maybe he just liked gossip. “Have you met him?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, although I’m probably biased,” the guy replied. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Yangyang would practically combust if he heard that you’ve met him,” Chen Le added. “Especially Prince Jisung. He would absolutely die if he ever saw him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The male stopped in front of a series of double doors, pushing one of them open with his foot to reveal the hospital wing inside. “I would hope he didn’t do that, that sounds unfortunate. Hey, Ten!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A short man in a doctor’s coat came into view, bowing down when he saw them. “Oh, good afternoon, your-“</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not now, please.” He walked over to one of the small beds lined up against the walls. “This young fellow fainted, please take care of him.” He turned to look at Chen Le. “This is the royal doctor; he’ll make sure your friend is in good hands.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He turned to leave, but turned around to look at Chen Le. “I never did catch your name.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, it’s Chen Le,” the latter said. “Thanks for everything.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No worries, next time, just tell the main guards your name and they’ll let you in. The sprinkled donuts here are really exquisite.” And just like that, the stranger left, closing the door behind him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>How did the guy know that they broke into the balance? Was it obvious, or did he assume that’s why Yangyang fainted? Chen Le would have to remember to scold his friend when he woke up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The doctor – Ten – sat next to the bed where Yangyang was, checking his pulse. “Do you have any idea why he fainted?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chen Le was </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>about to tell someone who worked for the King that Yangyang fainted for fear of getting thrown into jail, so he tried to think of another excuse. “I don’t think he’s eaten.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I’ll just ask Johnny to bring something up,” Ten said, putting the back of his hand on Yangyang’s forehead. “He doesn’t appear to have a fever.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just then, Yangyang stirred in his sleep, trying to lift himself up. “Where am, uh…” he slurred, not even opening his eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You fainted,” Chen Le nonchalantly replied. “Remember the stranger who saw us?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As his memories came back, Yangyang shot his eyes wide open in realization. “You mean-“</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, he carried you and brought you here-“ </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“PRINCE JISUNG BROUGHT ME HERE?!” Yangyang shrieked, before his eyes rolled back and he fainted again, collapsing on the bed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck finally got some alone time.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The palace was way bigger than what he thought. They’ve been walking for hours, with Johnny introducing him to cool people and places. For lunch, they went back to the kitchen, where Taeil’s assistant, Si Cheng, was making some avocado bacon wraps and spared some for them. Donghyuck would gladly take execution if he could have one of these. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny took some croissants to bring to Ten, so they made their way back to the hospital wing. It wasn’t long until it became a flirting contest between those two, so Donghyuck excused himself and Johnny let him, warning him to be careful. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck walked through the corridors, taking his own time. He would swing his arms back and forth, singing and talking to himself as he admired the vastness of this place. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He loved big places so much. One of his silly fantasies was to one day strike rich by finding gold and buy an entire forest just so that he can map out its existence. He had even thought of traveling to the other kingdoms, but it was hard to get a position that would allow you to; if you weren’t a noble, you had to be a scholar, and Donghyuck was a very stupid person. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He reached a part of a palace that was empty, towards the far left. This is when he realized he was lost. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now, logically, the smart thing to do was to wait for someone and ask for directions. But, remember, Donghyuck was stupid, so he decided to wait until someone appeared. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luckily, it wasn’t even five minutes when someone rounded a corner and froze when they saw him. It looked like a guy his age, Donghyuck realized, although if he remembered correctly, it didn’t look like someone in one of the royal families. Maybe he also worked here. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck decided to call him out. “Hello!! Can you help me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The guy was wearing all black clothing, almost looking like a spy in Donghyuck’s opinion. He also had pretty brown eyes and his brown hair was styled. Maybe he was a guard? His outfit wasn’t right, but maybe he was a special one. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The stranger ran towards him, hopefully able to help him. What Donghyuck noticed, though, was that the guy’s eyes look cold. And mad. Really mad. Was he pissed that Donghyuck was there?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t until the stranger threw him against the wall that Donghyuck realized he was being attacked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The stranger wrapped his hands around Donghyuck’s neck, tightening them while Donghyuck gasped for air. His vision was getting blurry and it was getting harder to fight back-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The assassin suddenly fell off Donghyuck, collapsing on the floor unconscious. Standing over him was Johnny, holding a frying pan. He must have hit the guy on the head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny dropped the frying pan on the ground and rushed to Donghyuck’s side, helping him get up before giving him a hug. “Are you okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Johnny, I was almost choked to death and you’re doing the same,” Donghyuck managed to sputter out. His brother let him go, mumbling a quick sorry before grabbing his arm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s get you out of here, there’s no time to explain,” Johnny yelled, dragging him as they ran through the hallways when the palace’s emergency sirens started to ring. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hopefully there has been enough background on the characters for this story!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Can We Scream Now?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>PLEASE READ THE ENDING NOTE REGARDING UPDATES</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The Kingdom of Korea was in an uproar. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There had been an attempted assassination on the royal family. King Park had received a stab wound and Prince Jisung received a concussion, but luckily, the royal family remained alive. Unfortunately, three guards and two commoners were killed while trying to protect the royal family. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The culprit was a tall fellow dressed in all black, who ran away before they could capture him. It was also noted that there were some others dressed in similar attire walking around the palace, yet their faces could not accurately be described. Their names and origins do not appear in the databases, so they remain a mystery. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The drawing that they published on the newspaper of the culprit didn’t look familiar to Donghyuck, but what </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>familiar was the outfit he was donning – that had been the exact same outfit the dude choking him had been wearing. Why he was found as a threat, who knows; maybe they killed anyone who looked at them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He reached up to touch the bruises on his neck. One more squeeze and Donghyuck was </span>
  <em>
    <span>sure </span>
  </em>
  <span>that the guy would have snapped his bones on the spot. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thankfully, Johnny had not decided to punish Donghyuck or chew him out for having placed himself in that situation, since it wasn’t Donghyuck’s fault – it just so happened that that was when the assassination attempt was placed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For the past three hours, Johnny had locked them up in the flat, barricading the front door with the couch and hiding behind the counter bar of the kitchen, knife in his hand while Donghyuck is forced to sit next to him with a frying pan, the same one Johnny had used.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Johnny, how long are we going to stay here?” Donghyuck asked, crawling around the counter to reach the bookcase. “No one followed us home and tried to kill us-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny grabbed Donghyuck from the waist and pulled him back. “Don’t move. Do you want to die?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Kind of. </span>
  </em>
  <span>“At this rate, death is preferable compared to boredom.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It took Donghyuck a total of ten minutes to convince Johnny to get them out of the ridiculous position </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Johnny! Come! On!” Donghyuck tried to pull his brother’s arm, though Johnny was really good at resisting. “This is stupid!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine, only because I’m hungry.” Johnny got up and went to the kitchen, knife still in his hand as he took out a carton of eggs. “Keep an eye out, Hyuck-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely not.” Donghyuck got up and pushed the couch back to its original spot, ignoring Johnny’s cries. “I’m tired, Johnny! I was almost killed, I want a nap.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But what if we </span>
  <em>
    <span>die</span>
  </em>
  <span>-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Still don’t see the downside, brother.” Donghyuck set the frying pan on the counter and went to his room. “I’m going to take my much needed nap-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What if that </span>
  <em>
    <span>thing </span>
  </em>
  <span>comes-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Night, Johnny,” Donghyuck said, slamming the door to his room shut.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Later, they had a small dinner, mainly some omelettes, but Johnny was jittering the whole dropping, dropping a piece of his food or his fork every so often. He even dropped his water cup </span>
  <em>
    <span>twice. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What’s wrong with you, seriously,” Donghyuck muttered to himself when he got up to get Johnny yet </span>
  <em>
    <span>another </span>
  </em>
  <span>rag, while the latter was trying to soak up the spill with napkins.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, Donghyuck, maybe because the only relative I have left was about to </span>
  <em>
    <span>die</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Johnny yelled at him. “Sorry for me not being in the right headspace!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck stared at Johnny. This was really out of character for him, but if he brushed it off, he knew they would get into a screaming match. “Sorry, Johnny, I didn’t think of it that way. I just saw some guy choke me and you hit them with a frying pan.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny rolled his eyes, standing up from the table. “Of course you did.” He picked up their plates and walked past Donghyuck in the kitchen. “I’m going to clean up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey that’s my job-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry about it,” Johnny said, setting the dishes down in the sink before grabbing the rag from Donghyuck. “Just go do something, I don’t know.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck would have protested, but he knew Johnny wouldn’t budge, so he decided to just stay in the living room on the couch, bored. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He grabbed a nearby book; Johnny always kept them in stacks everywhere and they were pretty boring, but hopefully Donghyuck would find an interesting one. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This particular book turned about to be history about the Kingdom which Donghyuck didn’t give a damn about. They all knew the stories, from the grandparents of the king how they became the first in their line, to the King’s brother, wife and newborn getting murdered around sixteen years ago. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Boring</span>
  </em>
  <span>. They always taught this in lessons and it was just glorifying everything. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The royal family were just a bunch of rich people. He didn’t know if they were nice enough since he’s never met them, but Prince Jisung is always being shown to the public and had a lot of fangirls, so who knows. Not Donghyuck, and he didn’t care. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He threw the book on the other side of the couch and laid face down, bored. His neck was still sore from the choking of that weird guy, and now Johnny was pissed at him. Great. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, he heard someone bumping into their front door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Johnny, do you hear that?” Donghyuck asked his older brother, who had been cleaning up in the kitchen. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hear what?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck pushed himself off the couch, annoyed. “Nevermind, I got it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He walked to the foyer and opened the front door to see what the commotion was, but he barely got a glance at the stranger in front of him before he was being thrown on the floor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ow! What the-” He sat up, rubbing the back of his head, looking at the person in front of him. It was the same guy from earlier! How the hell did he get here? “Uh, Johnny-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny got out of the kitchen to see what was going on. “What was that- HOLY SHIT!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The stranger, dressed in the same outfit as before, hovered over Donghyuck, hand wrapped his neck like before, trying to choke him again. Donghyuck tried to pry his hands off him, but it was no use, the stranger was stronger than him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny grabbed the frying pan Donghyuck had left on the counter and swung it towards the stranger, only unfortunately, the guy was already predicting the attack, since he let go of Donghyuck to swipe it away from Johnny. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck scooted backwards, frantically glancing around the living room trying to find a weapon. He struggled to get himself up, but he managed to grab a thick textbook to get ready to hit the stranger with. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Meanwhile, Johnny had tried to throw a punch, but the man caught it, holding his fist firmly while staring at Johnny, neither of them breaking eye contact. Johnny kicked the stranger away from him, the latter stumbling back a bit, but turned around to face Donghyuck again, the latter hoisting the textbook higher. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t do anything, I don’t even know you!” Donghyuck shouted, the book trembling in his hands. “Leave us alone!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have been assigned to kill the royal family,” the guy said before taking the book from Donghyuck’s hand and throwing it behind him, wrapping his hands around Donghyuck’s neck again before pinning him to the wall, lifting him higher. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny ran to the kitchen and grabbed a knife he had left on the counter before running back to where the stranger was, and stabbed him in the back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The guy froze, letting go of Donghyuck before falling on the ground, unconscious. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Where the knife was poking out, interestingly, there wasn’t any sign of blood, only a few sparks being released, revealing a damaged metal plate in his back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck pointed at the guy’s back. “What is that?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Johnny inched closer, pulling the knife out. There was indeed no blood on the knife. “A robot?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aren’t those rare, though?” Donghyuck asked, scared that the man was going to get up any second now and try to kill him. “And if he was trying to kill the royal family, why go after us?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny’s eyes widened, “Holy shit,” he muttered, looking away from Donghyuck. “It can’t be.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, what are you talking about?” Donghyuck asked him, shaking his shoulder. “Johnny?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nothing, look, we should figure out if this guy really is human.” Johnny grabbed the guy’s hand and sliced its palm, surprising Donghyuck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“JOHNNY WHY WOULD YOU DO- wait.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sliced palm revealed blood. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny threw the hand back, confused. “I have no idea what this guy is.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck bent down, trying to poke the man’s skin. It was really soft and warm, nothing like a cold robot would be. “Is he dead?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I mean, it doesn’t look like he’s breathing,” Johnny said. “We need to get rid of the body-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, we need to find out what he is. Besides, didn’t the newspaper say there were more of them? They’ll try to come after us,” Donghyuck explained. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny's eyes widened, snapping his fingers. “Fuck, who was- do you remember that Chinese student that studied with me?” he asked his brother, mumbling some stuff. “What was his name?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Xiaojun?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Xiaojun, he can help us!” Johnny exclaimed. He pulled the man’s body away from the living room. “Help me tie him, and then pack your bags.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun slammed his head on the counter, screaming in anger. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had started with five. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Five prototypes</span>
  </em>
  <span>. And now he was left with two. TWO!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>First, Model K had ran off all those weeks ago, and Jaehyun still had no idea how he was able to do that. Model L, or Yukhei, had been the one to kill those innocent people who were defending the royal family, but he ran off soon enough and Jaehyun had lost his coordinates. Now, Model M, or Minhyung, had gone after some random person in the hallways and to their house despite the order of only attacking the royal family, and Jaehyun got the notification that the control panel had been damaged and now Minhyung was not going to respond. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two left, Taeyong and Renjun, stood quietly as Jaehyun continued to scream at himself, Jaemin trying to calm him down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jaehyun, it’s not your fault,” Jaemin reminded him, even though Jaehyun wasn’t bothering to pay attention to him. “It was Lee-eun-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I shouldn’t have created them,” Jaehyun muttered to himself, sliding all the things on his desk to the ground, startling Jaemin. “I shouldn’t have fucking created them.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong and Renjun stayed quiet, heads bowed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun got out of his chair and started pacing back and forth in the room. “If the King finds out I had a hand in their creation, I’m going to be beheaded. Oh god, I’m going to be beheaded-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sir, can you calm down!” Jaemin yelled at him, grabbing his shoulders. “Calm down!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t get it Jaemin, I’M GOING TO DIE!” Jaehyun screamed. “I’m going to die, and there’s nothing we can do about it!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, there has to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Jaemin went to stand next to Taeyong and Renjun. “It’s not their fault! It’s Lee-eun’s fault, he has to pay!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s the royal advisor, Jaemin, no one is going to believe me!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>are the royal scientist!” Jaemin reminded him. “You’re smart, you can figure this out, you always can!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not this time- wait a second…”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The King and Queen are hidden in their secret bunkers where Prince Jisung was supposed to be, but like usual, he had matters to deal with on his own. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Previously, he had arranged to meet with the Chinese prince, Prince Hendery, and they didn’t get to cancel it in time, so he was now in the throne room, with a handful of guards with him, as they received Prince Hendery. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Chinese prince came with his own guards due to protocol, so Jisung’s guards held up their spears in case they decided to attack them any second now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hendery bowed down. “Nice to see you, Prince Jisung.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And you too, Prince Hendery,” Jisung said, bowing down as well. “Surely you have heard of the news.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My deepest apologies to the King and Queen,” Hendery said. “I sure hope they find the culprit.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I sure hope the culprit isn’t one of your people,” Jisung said in a monotone voice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you- are you accusing me?” Hendery scoffed, looking away. “We have nothing to do with this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure is a coincidence how this happened when you were supposed to arrive.” Jisung crossed his arms. “And how I also found Chinese immigrants sneaking into the palace."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hendery rolled his eyes. “You know our fathers have been trying to make peace between the two kingdoms.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, well, my father was almost killed,” Jisung reminded him. “Let your father know that if any of your people were involved with this… we’ll declare a war.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Due to a change in circumstances regarding COVID19, I wont be having internet access for a few weeks or months, it is uncertain. This is really sudden so I'm really sorry if you've been exciting for this story, I've been anxiously writing one last chapter for all my fics to let my readers know (I have three left to do but I don't think I'll make it). My fics are NOT being abandoned, just postponed. Just remember to stay safe, follow regulations, and let's support NCT's Punch.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The Countryside</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I HAVE INTERNET FOR LIKE 30 MORE MINUTES IM UPLOADING AS MUCH AS I CAN</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“We have to leave, Yangyang,” Chen Le said in their native tongue, pulling his friend’s arm away from the alley where they usually slept. “People are going to find out about us soon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But-but I like it here,” Yangyang argued, trying to get out of Chen Le’s grasp. “I don’t want to leave.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If we stay, we are most likely going to be beheaded,” Chen Le harshly whispered to him. “They’re going to blame us, this is why I told you we shouldn’t have gone inside the palace.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But Prince Jisung, though.” Yangyang let go of Chen Le and crossed his arms. “You don’t even care about the royal family and you got to talk to him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Only because you </span>
  <em>
    <span>fainted, </span>
  </em>
  <span>idiot!” Chen Le shouted. He pointed across the bustling road, where there were masses of people. “Do you see that cart there? We should get on it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why that one, though?” Yangyang asked, nervous. “I don’t want to leave-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I heard people saying that one is going to the countryside, now let’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>go</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Chen Le grabbed Yangyang’s arm again and pulled him forward, thankful that no one paying attention to them as they were merely two more peasants.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they reached the cart, there was a young teen sitting at the front wrapped in a blanket turned away from them. They didn’t see anyone else nearby. “Okay, you go in first,” Chen Le said, lifting up the tarp and pushing Yangyang. “Go.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What if we get caught?” Yangyang asked. “I don’t want-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why didn’t you ask yourself that when we trespassed you-know-what, now </span>
  <em>
    <span>get in!!</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I hope you guys stay safe,” Doyoung told Johnny, handing him a sack of flour for the Seo brothers to take on their trip. “I’m going to miss seeing Donghyuck-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, we’re gonna go by different names there, so…” Johnny made the zipping up his lips motion. “I’m Youngho from now on.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, that’s stupid, but okay I guess. Tell your brother </span>
  <em>
    <span>Haechan </span>
  </em>
  <span>that I’m going to miss him.” Doyoung pointed at Donghyuck, who was sitting at the front of the cart, wrapped in a blanket. “He owes me aegyo.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course he does, yo, Haechan!” Johnny yelled. Donghyuck didn’t pay him any attention though. “He’s not used to it, never mind.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Youngho is a stupid fake name to go by, but go off I guess.” Doyoung walked to the front of the cart, waving his hand in front of Donghyuck. “Hey, you still owe me my aegyo.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck rolled his eyes. “I don’t like aegyo.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny lifted the tarp and put the sack of flour near the ending, not even looking underneath it. It was getting bumpy, not to mention they had a dead body in there. “We’ll be back as soon as possible.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah, just don’t die,” Doyoung reminded him. It was disappointing that Johnny still needed reminders like this. “I’ll let your “friend” Ten know where you’re going-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why is he emphasizing the friend part?” Donghyuck asked Johnny, who pulled himself up to sit next to Donghyuck.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“At least </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m </span>
  </em>
  <span>not in love with some bakery boy,” Johnny said, rolling his eyes while grabbing the reins from the horse. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Doyoung’s face turned red. “I’m not in love with him.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure you aren’t.” Johnny gave Doyoung a farewell salute. “See you later bud.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The trip to the countryside was a pretty exhausting one. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xiaojun lived near the borders between the Kingdom of Korea and the Kingdom of China, which was a good four hour trip from Neo City. A lot of Koreans and Chinese citizens mingled with each other there, so Johnny would have no problem giving them fake identities in order to not track him and Donghyuck down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck fell asleep merely around twenty minutes into the trip, his head lying on Johnny’s shoulder while snoring softly. They had exhausted themselves packing as much stuff as they could, even though this was supposed to be a temporary visit. At least Johnny’s boss didn’t care, claiming they were too worried with the state of the royal family to care about their workers. Rude, but what could you do?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At least he wasn’t getting fired. He did feel bad for the people who passed away, and got tense at the thought that Donghyuck could have easily been the sixth person. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not to mention they had a dead body in the back of the cart, but anyways! No time to worry about that now.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To be honest, Johnny had no idea what he was supposed to do with the body. His plan was to ask Xiaojun questions about the corpse, but after that, how was he supposed to get rid of it? Surely Xiaojun wasn’t going to be fond of the idea of Johnny, an old classmate, showing up with the body of someone who tried to kill his younger brother. Anyone who was half-sane would think that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The trip was long, but thankful it was coming to an end, as Johnny saw the sign signalling the entrance to the small town. Donghyuck was still fast asleep, not waking up once during the trip, despite all the bumpy roads. Usually he was a light sleeper, so this was amazing Johnny. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny reigned their horse to take them in front of the building that looked like the main town hall, so he now had to wake Donghyuck up to make sure no one stole from them. “Haechan,” he said, using their fake names for the trip. “Haechan, wake up.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shook his brother’s shoulder softly, not wanting to startle the younger awake. Finally, though, Donghyuck yawned, stretching his arms as he accidentally elbowed Johnny in the face, causing him to fall off the cart. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck was still half asleep, so he didn’t see Johnny fall as his eyes were still closed. When he finally opened them, he looked around, confused as to where Johnny could have been. “Jo-I mean, Youngho?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Here.” He heard a faint voice come from the ground. “I was waking you up to let you know we’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>here</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Already?” Donghyuck took off his blanket and stood up, stretching his legs. “That was quick.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny got up from the ground slowly, hand on his hip as he heard a joint crack. “Damn, I really am old.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re like, two years older.” Donghyuck jumped off the cart onto the ground, admiring the town. It was really small, with all the buildings spread out, definitely not like Neo City. Lots of grass and trees everywhere. “This place looks really funky.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, you like exploring, so it’s a plus for you- ay!” He pointed at Donghyuck, who was moving away from the cart. “You stay here. I have to find out where Xiaojun is, plus where we can a room.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Roger that,” Donghyuck said, making the hand gesture. “I’ll take care of… uh, Jo- I mean Youngho, he needs a name.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Call him Mark or whatever, I don’t care.” Johnny grabbed his bag filled with some documents and walked towards the entrance of the town hall. “I’ll be back, don’t let go of the knife.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck climbed back onto the cart, pouting even though he knew Johnny couldn’t see him anymore. Blame it on Johnny to always do the fun stuff. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There weren’t a lot of people on the street, but they were all giving Donghyuck a dirty look. Was it because he and Johnny spoke in Korean? His older brother said something about a lot of Chinese living here. Maybe they just acted like this with newcomers? Hopefully this wasn’t a town where everyone knew each other. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He turned around to stare at the back of the cart, hoping no one would come by and steal anything, when to his surprise, the tarp started </span>
  <em>
    <span>moving</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh god, did… did that assassin come back </span>
  <em>
    <span>alive?? </span>
  </em>
  <span>Is it going to try to kill him again?? Why did it choose the </span>
  <em>
    <span>exact </span>
  </em>
  <span>moment when Johnny was gone to wake up??</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck grabbed the knife that Johnny had left on the seat and got off the cart, gripping it tightly. Who cares if the townspeople were now looking at him as if he were mad, he wasn’t going to risk his life to look good if front of these boomers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On the count of three, he lifted the tarp and his eyes widened when he saw two completely unfamiliar boys lying down in silence, eyes opened as they stared at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He screamed, dropping the knife as he fell back on the ground. Did the assassin just- just </span>
  <em>
    <span>clone himself</span>
  </em>
  <span>?!?! Into copies that didn’t look like him?!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“YOUNGHO!!!” Donghyuck shrieked, crawling away from the two intruders. “PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO KILL ME AGAIN!!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Woah woah woah, we’re not killing you, I swear!” The taller one jumped up, waving his hands frantically. “Please, we just needed to get out of the city- Chen Le, I told you this was a bad idea.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>excuse </span>
  </em>
  <span>me from wanting to leave Neo City when we were in danger!!” The one named Chen Le shouted back at his friend. “I told you to stay still!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny came back outside and ran towards Donghyuck when he found him on the ground. “Are you okay-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s two random guys next to Mark!” Donghyuck shrieked, which is when Johnny took notice of the two new guys.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, we wouldn’t hurt your friend here-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yangyang, please don’t,” Chen Le said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But it’s true!! Your friend has been asleep here the whole time!” Yangyang lifted the tarp completely off, where the two Seo brothers could see “Mark”. It looked like he was breathing. “I swear we didn’t hurt him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny picked the knife off from the ground and pointed it at Yangyang and Chen Le, the two raising their hands in defeat. “You have five seconds to tell me what you’re doing.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We needed to escape the city,” Chen Le explained, his hands trembling. “I swear, we were in the palace when the assassination attempt took place and we don’t want to be wrongfully accused.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck suddenly remembered when Johnny took him to the kitchen the other day in the palace. “You two were the boys in the kitchen hiding,” he whispered to himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny stared at him, confused. “Wait, what are you talking about?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“When you took me to meet Taeil, the two were in the kitchen, they snuck in,” Donghyuck explained. “I didn’t say anything because, well-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We didn’t do anything bad, we swear!” Yangyang screamed. “Please don’t kill me, I want to meet Prince Hendery before I die-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can you </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>talk about that right now?” Chen Le yelled at him. “Don’t you see we’re about to be thrown into jail?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Johnny?” The four of them turned around to see a short male walk up to them, a taller man walking behind him. “Johnny, is that you?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There went their cover. “Uh- holy shit, Xiaojun!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xiaojun walked closer to the group, smiling. “Wow, it really is you! It’s been a long time since we were classmates, right?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yangyang started speaking in Mandarin to Xiaojun and Donghyuck had no idea what was going on, so he dug through Johnny’s bag and pulled out a wedge of cheese and munched on it, watching the commotion. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xiaojun spoke back to Yangyang in Mandarin, and then to Johnny in Korean said, “they’re immigrants, it’s why they thought it was unsafe. You haven’t heard of Prince Hendery’s visit to the palace, right?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, no, I don’t really follow news that much,” Johnny admitted. “But no, I don’t particularly care about the royal family, I’m more worried about </span>
  <em>
    <span>Haechan </span>
  </em>
  <span>here getting hurt- hey why are you eating my brie cheese?!” he yelled at Donghyuck when he saw what he was doing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck shrugged, taking another bite. “I’m hungry.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you guys can come over and stay at my place, it’s just me and- oh, I haven’t introduced you!” Xiaojun grabbed the arm of the guy who was standing behind him, silent the entire time. “This is Kun, he’s staying with me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh… hey…” Kun said, eyes darting back and forth from Xiaojun and the others. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We don’t want to overstay our welcome,” Johnny tried to deny their offer. “Really, we only came to stay for a few days and to ask you some questions-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I really don’t mind, there’s a lot of empty room in my house, come on, I insist.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Johnny, just accept the offer, please, I want to take a nap,” Donghyuck said, taking the last bite of the cheese. “Sorry, Xiaojun, my brother is just a dimwit-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>a dimwit-”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Man, my head hurts.” They all looked back on the cart where Yangyang and Chen Le were still standing, where the assassin had sat up, rubbing the back of his head. “How long have I been out-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Without hesitation, Johnny grabbed the frying pan on the cart and slammed the assassin’s head again. </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>HAHA YALL THOUGHT I WAS GONNA CALL HIM MINHYUNG, DO I LOOK LIKE WEEKLY IDOL</p><p>ALSO STAY SAFE DURING COVID19 AND THE PROTESTS, JUSTICE FOR GEORGE FLOYD!!!! BLACK LIVES MATTERS!!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Just A Small Town Boy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>im going to post more recently now!! thanks for everyone who had waited and remember to stay safe!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“So let me get this straight,” Xiaojun said. “You work at the palace and during the attack, this… </span>
  <em>
    <span>guy </span>
  </em>
  <span>tried to kill your brother.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look at him,” Johnny said, pointing at Donghyuck. “This happened </span>
  <em>
    <span>twice, </span>
  </em>
  <span>can you imagine how traumatized Donghyuck must be?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck, in question, was eating another block of cheese in the living room, reading a newspaper that Xiaojun had laying around. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xiaojun rubbed his eyes aggressively, not believing that an old classmate had come to him for help. He didn’t know anything, all he did was tend his garden, sell some stuff here and there, and spend time with Kun, who he has known for over a month. “So you want me to find out what this thing is and discover why he’s after your brother.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Precisely,” Johnny concluded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sighing, Xiaojun got up from his kitchen chair and walked towards the tied-up assassin, who was now unconscious again. His head was on the wall, his body slouching, as he slept. Xiaojun would have thought he was dead, but apparently he was when he interrupted everyone and Johnny beat his head with a frying pan again. “I mean, he looks normal-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s not, though.” Johnny grabbed his satchel and pulled out a piece of cloth, unwrapping it to reveal the broken electronic panel that had come out of the man. “When I stabbed his back-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You STABBED him?!” Xiaojun screamed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He was </span>
  <em>
    <span>killing Donghyuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I had to do </span>
  <em>
    <span>something!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Johnny pulled out the metal plate thing and lifted it higher for Xiaojun to see. “This was on his back, and there were sparks flying and all that shit.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xiaojun came closer to Johnny, picking up the metal. “Maybe he’s a robot?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No way, he has blood-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t recommend you guys pry into this.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Both Xiaojun and Johnny looked at Kun, who had been sitting at the table the entire time in silence. “Why not?” Xiaojun asked him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kun pointed at the newspaper Donghyuck was reading. “Not sure if you guys know, but others were attacking the palace as well. It must be an organized group and you might get hurt if you try to search for more information-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kun, you know I would agree with you, but they were already attacking Donghyuck here,” Xiaojun argued. “They’re already targets, something has to be done-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t do it,” Kun insisted. “Let this person go and-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“With all due respect, Kun, he tried to kill my brother, he’s not going anyway,” Johnny interrupted. “I’m going to get all the information I can and deal with this problem myself, I don’t give a fuck if those people were after the royal family, </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>am going to make sure they get what they deserve.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kun abruptly stood up from the table, not breaking eye contact with Johnny. “I’m advising you not to do it-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What is up with you today, Kun?” Xiaojun asked him. “You always tell me to stick up for myself, but now you don’t want these people to?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t know what you’re getting into,” Kun continued. “Just let the matter go.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xiaojun crossed his arms across his chest. “Kun, what are you hiding?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“N-nothing,” Kun stuttered. He then started speaking to Xiaojun in Mandarin, making Johnny have no clue what they were now discussing about. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked at his brother, who was calmly reading the newspaper. Johnny had kept so many secrets from him, not wanting to worry Donghyuck, and he was not going to let Donghyuck get involved either in order for him not to get hurt.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Taeyong stepped closer to where Jaehyun was working, struggling to hold steady the small plate of sandwiches that he had made. “Uh, Jaehyun?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun had been at his desk for the past three hours, trying to figure out a way to find Minhyung and Yukhei. He had install a backup plan, one that Lee-eun had no idea existed; Jaehyun had no even told his assistant Jaemin, in case the latter was ever tortured for information. Wouldn’t be the first time, unfortunately. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>However, his back up plan was a bit complicated. For Minhyung, the control panel was completely ripped out, so there was little Jaehyun could do with the wires in the latter’s body. For Yukhei, it was a bit easier, since the latter hasn’t made any altercations to his wiring system, but since he was off the grid, Jaehyun still had to make an effort to find his location. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun was drawing out a detailed plan on his tattered notepad, the blueprints of the two models covering his desk. He had memorized the entire layout of the men’s bodies, but it was still helpful to have a visual. He heard Taeyong say something, but he wasn’t quite sure. “You were saying something, Taeyong?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, uh-” Taeyong hastily set the plate of sandwiches on the corner of the desk where there wasn’t anything, not wanting to disturb Jaehyun and his work. “I just thought you should eat, so-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He turned around to walk out of the room, only to feel Jaehyun grab his wrist. “Don’t go, I need you here,” Jaehyun said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong took a few steps backwards, looking at Jaehyun again. “Sir, I don’t want to be an trouble-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nonsense, you’re fine, just grab that chair over there and drag it,” Jaehyun instructed, pointing to one of the chairs scattered around. They weren’t really for guests, they were just placed everywhere in case Jaehyun got tired out. “You might help me with something.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hesitating, Taeyong grabbed the chair and set it next to Jaehyun slowly, giving the scientist time to go back on his words. “I hope not to cause a problem,” Taeyong muttered, scooting the chair a tad bit closer to Jaehyun in order to help, but still giving him space. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You worry too much.” Jaehyun grabbed the plate and extended it to Taeyong. “You can have one, thanks for making them, by the way.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong stared at Jaehyun for a few seconds, biting his lip as he grabbed one of the small sandwiches, taking a small bite. It was just chicken breast, tomato and lettuce, not the most grand of sorts, but those were always the sandwiches that Jaehyun made himself, too busy to make himself a proper meal.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He nibbled on it, watching Jaehyun who grabbed one of the sandwiches and setting the plate down again, grabbing his notepad for Taeyong to see, even though the latter had advanced vision. Jaehyun sometimes forgot that. “So, Yukhei or model L is off the grid, his problem would be easier to solve than Minhyung’s, but it involves some transmitters, which won’t be enough, if I’m honest, but if we build this small contraption here…” Jaehyun lifted up his leg to set the notepad on his thigh, taking a bite of his sandwich as he grabbed his pencil and circled a drawing on the notepad. “I’m pretty sure there’s a way we can locate his coordinates like on a radar."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong nodded, understanding. “That’s if he has the control panel.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Correct, Yukhei should still have it, meanwhile, for Minhyung-” Jaehyun flipped a couple of pages until he found one titled ‘Rescue Model M’. “There’s these little chips I have inserted in you guys’ brains that allow your abilities to be enhanced-"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The door of the room opened rapidly, the door banging against the wall. “Sir, I brought your shipment of the copper filaments,” Jaemin said, crate in his hand. “And Renjun here as your other supplies.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, yes, copper, I’m going to need that.” Jaehyun gave the notepad to Taeyong while shoving the rest of the sandwich in his mouth, chewing a maximum of three times before swallowing. “Were you guys able to find the steel scraps?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Correct,” Renjun said simply, setting the box down on the floor. Unlike Taeyong, Renjun tended to be more blunt and to the point. “We got everything on the list.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I also let Renjun try cotton candy,” Jaemin exclaimed happily. “They had grape today!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And you didn’t bring me some?!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They ran out, but-” Jaemin pulled out a brown bag on top of the crate. “Taeil made chocolate croissants for you, he would have made more strudels but his assistant was off helping his boyfriend today with an assignment-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun practically sprinted out of his chair, grabbing the paper bag from Jaemin. He opened it and was delighted to indeed find Taeil’s chocolate croissants. “Yes, I’m going to devour all of these,” Jaehyun said to himself, mouth wide as he grabbed one and shoved it in his mouth, biting half of it in one go. “Guys, we have work to do today,” he told the three in the room. “And I’m going to need everyone’s help.”</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“I’m tired,” Yangyang whined for the third time in five minutes. “Can we please stop for the day?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chen Le pointed his hoe at Yangyang. “You better be glad we’re not incarcerated.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’d rather be in jail, though, they wouldn’t make me work this hard and they’ll give me bread,” Yangyang argued. “Plus, doesn’t the royal family have to be present in case I get executed? Surely Prince JIsung would be there-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yangyang, don’t make me beat these fantasies out of you,” Chen Le said, going back to tilling the soil. “Now we have to finish this plot.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yangyang grumbled but didn’t say anything else, tilling as well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Chen Le said, they were lucky they weren’t thrown in jail; the Chinese guy Xiaojun had taken pity of them when they said they didn’t have homes or jobs, so he offered them a chance to work in his fields in exchange for gold pieces and a place to say. Better than that Johnny Youngho guy who wanted to slice their throats.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chen Le can’t remember the last time he slept on a bed. Probably never, if he was honest. The orphanage back in China had thrown them out when they were young, which was almost a decade ago. They didn’t have enough money to spring for a room in an inn, and no one was kind enough to take them in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xiaojun had explained to them that he had a room in his basement where he would lay out some mattresses for them to sleep on. He explained that he wasn’t going to have time tending the crops anyways if he was going to help his friends, so it was just in time that those two had arrived. His city back in the China Kingdom was also really bad, which is why he moved here to the Korea Kingdom, having found much better luck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were really grateful for the place to stay, which is why Chen Le already wanted to finish quickly instead of hearing Yangyang complain again, which is he was about to do… any second now…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m tired-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just go inside, Yangyang,” Chen Le said, continuing to till. “I’ll finish up here-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s fine, I can continue,” Yangyang said, slamming the hoe harder into the ground. “Look at me, I’m a good worker-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yangyang, seriously, you’re stressing me out.” Chen Le grabbed the hoe from Yangyang and threw it on the ground. “Go inside, I’ll do the rest.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“-But-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>One glare from Chen Le was all it took for Yangyang to stop. “Okay, but if I die, it’s going to be your fault,” Yangyang muttered, stomping away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chen Le sighed and went back to work. He really needed to finish this plot before sunset, and the fact that his stomach continued growling did not help him at all. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He tilled in silence, wiping the sweat off his forehead every now, tricking himself into thinking that he would have for once a decent meal when he finishes. </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sir, we found reports of the man who tried to murder your family,” one of Jisung’s bodyguards and trusted advisors, Yuta, said, waving a stack of papers in the air. “We managed to pinpoint his coordinates.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yuta slammed the stack down on the table, Jisung tentatively picking up the first sheet. “SM Town?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Correct, that was the last seen sighting of the man who ran off, the tall one who spoke in Cantonese,” Yuta explained. “As for the other people who were seen during the attack, more notably the brown haired guy, have not been seen at all.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung grabbed the papers and looked through them, most containing photographs or eye witness accounts from their trusted witnesses. “SM Town is near the border of the two kingdoms.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Which would make sense, considering how he is expected to be Chinese of origin,” Yuta continued. “There is yet to be proof that he has connections to the Chinese royal family, however, so I wouldn’t recommend prying into the family just yet. You know their King has a temper.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can’t be as bad as my father’s.” Jisung set the papers down. “I want you to call my security team, we are to head off to this town. Do not let anyone know about this, not even the advisor Lee-eun, I don’t want my father to get involved.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>stray kids comeback, wayv comeback, uh taemin mustb greatguys in july, what an interesting summer we have boys (also my friend is finally learning up10tion give her a round of applause)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. It Speaks</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Mark woke up disoriented. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had no idea where he was at, but one quick search of the gps in his head let him know that he was in the small town of SM, near the borders of the Korea and China kingdom. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He also felt something in his back missing, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that the control panel was ripped out from him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Interesting. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark opened his eyes slowly, trying to adjust to the light in the room. And that’s how he discovered a young boy with messy brown-orange hair looking back at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Startled, Mark tried to scoot back, only to realize he was sitting against some sort of wall. While tied up. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Clearly </span>
  </em>
  <span>something had happened while he was under control. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The royal scientist Jaehyun had designed for the memories of being controlled to be stored in the control panel, while their normal memories were stored in their brain like normal humans. And with his control panel done, Mark couldn’t remember what events could have led up to this; the last thing he remembered was being awakened in the lab along with the other models being called Minhyung, though he had a faint memory of someone calling him Mark. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wait, but he was also Model M…. what was his name again?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boy in front of him got surprised at Mark getting awake, but didn’t show any signs of fear or confusion, instead staring at Mark with his golden eyes which appeared to have flecks in them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His skin was tanned, contrasting his light, pink lips which were being hit with the sunlight in the room. He looked young, Mark realized, maybe the same age Mark would be if he were born as a normal human. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re awake,” the boy murmured in Korean, still staring straight into Mark’s eyes, not breaking eye contact. “Woah.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Donghyuck, GET AWAY FROM HIM!” Mark looked to see a taller man stand behind the boy in front of him, a frying pan in his hand. “And YOU! Don’t even </span>
  <em>
    <span>think </span>
  </em>
  <span>about touching him-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Johnny, can you just shut up,” the boy named Donghyuck said, looking at the man behind him. “Put that frying pan down, please, you exaggerate.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, did he </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>try to kill you TWICE?!” Johnny yelled at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck shrugged, turning back to stare at Mark. “Death is inevitable and I want a grilled cheese.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny walked away, shouting some obscenities under his breath. “What an oddball of a brother.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You said he’s a robot, he’s going to be cool!” Donghyuck yelled at Johnny, sighing. “Ignore my brother, he’s just overprotective.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark stared at him wide-eyed ,nodding along. “Sure.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Woah, you can </span>
  <em>
    <span>talk</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Donghyuck exclaimed, grinning. “A robot who can talk!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not a robot, I’m Model M,” Mark explained to him. “But my unofficial name given to me is Minhyung.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I forgot you probably had a name, oops.” Donghyuck smiled. “I didn’t know your name so I’ve been calling you Mark, I know it might not be a scary name for an assassin but-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, </span>
  <em>
    <span>assassin</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Mark asked, confused. “Why would I be an assassin?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck frowned. “Uh… did you get amnesia or something?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark shook his head. “I have no memories when I’m controlled.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Controlled</span>
  </em>
  <span>? Johnny, Mark says he’s been controlled!!” Donghyuck yelled out to the one he called brother. “What do you mean you’ve been controlled?” he asked Mark. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have been created in order to aid others,” Mark explained. “With the ability of being controlled should there be something specific I should accomplish given that as a human, I have my doubts.” Mark looked around the room where he was being held captive. “It is really peculiar that my task would be to murder someone, unless they have harmed another individual-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Donghyuck has never hurt someone in his life,” Johnny yelled, coming back with a knife in his hand. “And don’t act dumb, robot, you’re just trying to get away with murder.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark stared at Johnny, not knowing how to respond. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun has always said that unlike the other models, he was the most distant. Taeyong followed orders, yes, but he was also a very kind and thoughtful person, always asking Jaehyun and Jaemin if they wanted help with anything. Renjun was kind of cold, but Jaehyun never minded his sarcastic comments; plus, Jaemin and Jeno liked hanging out with him as well. Model L, or Yukhei when he was named last minute, was the most talkative and always had a cheerful attitude. Mark never met Model K, but surely he would have been a good person. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark, though… how would you describe him?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am not a robot although I do have wiring,” Mark said, trying to defend himself. Sure, he was an advanced human, but if he died, then that means that Jaehyun would be down to three models. “And I had a control panel on my back, although it feels like it’s been ripped out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny’s face fell. “Wait, so… </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>is what that’s for?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, if he’s not a robot, then…” Donghyuck leaned closer to Mark, playing with a strand on his head. Mark could feel the latter’s exhaling of carbon dioxide. “You said something about wiring?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I would show you but it’s all internal,” Mark said. “But… you can see some in my eyes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck leaned forward even more, his lips approximately three inches away from Mark’s. “Woah!” he said, leaning back again. “I can see it!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Donghyuck, I told you to </span>
  <em>
    <span>get away from him!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Johnny yelled, grabbing Donghyuck from underneath his arms and pulling him backwards, ignoring Donghyuck’s protests. “Do you want to get murdered a third time?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t see my </span>
  <em>
    <span>grilled cheese</span>
  </em>
  <span>!” Donghyuck reminded him, trying to wrestle out of Johnny’s grasp. “And I’m just looking, it’s not like I’m going to marry him months later!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now </span>
  <em>
    <span>why the fuck </span>
  </em>
  <span>are you even thinking about marrying?!” Johnny yelled at him, wrapping his arms around Donghyuck’s waist to keep him put. “Stop resisting!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark spread his legs casually, breaking the rope that had been tied around his ankles apart, and he did the same to the rope tied around his wrist. “I need to go,” he said, standing up as Donghyuck and Johnny stared at him in shock. “I can’t be here-"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny pointed his knife at Mark, holding Donghyuck behind him. “Stay back, demon!” he yelled, stabbing the air. “I don’t want what you’re selling!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Jesus Christ, continue playing your games, then,” Donghyuck said, taking Johnny’s arm off of him. “I’m hungry, when does Xiaojun and Kun get back?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They went to the market and then are going to deal with the two Chinese boys who also tried to kill you,” Johnny said, pushing Donghyuck away. “Go to the room, I’ll make you something when I-” he stared at Mark, who was watching the whole ordeal. “As of right now, you are being held hostage till we get to the bottom of this!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kidnapping or not, I’m making a sandwich,” Donghyuck said, stomping into the kitchen.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Xiaojun and Kun went to the market to exchange some crops for some spices, and were making their way back to the house, taking their time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can’t wait for the sunset tonight,” Xiaojun said softly, swinging the basket in his hands. “The weather today was really beautiful.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kun nodded, looking at Xiaojun. “Yeah, it really is.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pfft, hopefully I can do some work before then,” Xiaojun added, grabbing one of the parsley jars he had exchanged with some of his tomatoes. “Maybe I can make soup tonight, do you think the boys will like it?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The one with potatoes and cheese? I’m sure they’ll like it.” Kun wrapped his arm around Xiaojun’s shoulder, the latter not even noticing as he was too busy examining the parsley jars he had gotten. “What are you going to do about the… superhuman?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xiaojun looked at him before sighing, stuffing the jar back in the basket. “Well, I have to help them,” he said finally. “They made a long trip here from Neocity and I can’t exactly say ‘yeah, no.’”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kun was still keen on persuading Xiaojun to drop out of the idea, but he couldn’t exactly give him any details without exposing himself. “Just be careful,” he warned him. “The fact that one of them was after the royal family and murdered people makes them dangerous.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s the really odd part,” Xiaojun admitted. “The last time someone in the royal family passed away was the young prince who got murdered along with his wife and newborn son. That was… I was barely a toddler."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That does sound unfortunate.” Kun saw how the house and the field came into view - at least for him, anyways; he </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>have the better eyesight between the two of them. “The memories I have from back then are a blur,” he lied. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Memories as a kid are often distorted,” Xiaojun explained, when the house came in view for him. “Look, we’re almost home, I’m so glad because I’m starving.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He got out of Kun’s grasp and sprinted his way to the house, laughing while clutching the basket tightly to chest, and all Kun could do was watch Xiaojun, hoping that Xiaojun wouldn’t discover what he was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chen Le and Yangyang were sitting at the back porch, the two tired after all their work for today. Good thing was, they weren’t in jail or dead, so that was always a plus.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look, another worm!” Yangyang shouted, pointing at the soil in front of him. There was, indeed, a worm popping out of the ground, before deciding it did not like the sun and heading back down into the earth. “There’s worms everywhere!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You look like a worm,” Chen Le muttered, resting against the wall. “I’m so tired.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s a compliment.” Yangyang yawned. “And me too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They sat there in silence for a bit, waiting for the sun to set so that they could sleep, when they heard the front door of the house opened. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Startled, they turned around to see Xiaojun, two bowls in hand. “You guys aren’t allergic to anything, right?” he said, setting down the bowls in front of them. “I hope you like soup.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He reached into his pocket and took out two small bags, tossing one to each. “Here’s your gold coins as well, your mattresses are ready for when you want to sleep.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“SOUP! I don’t remember the last time I had soup!” Yangyang exclaimed, immediately grabbing the bowl and taking a spoonful. “Mhhmm-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks for everything,” Chen Le said, stuffing his bag of coins. This is the most money he has ever had. “We really appreciate it."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No worries, I’ll be busy dealing with whatever that thing is,” Xiaojun said. “Also don’t feel intimidated if Johnny gives you a dirty look, he has a weird way of showing dominance.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s one of </span>
  <em>
    <span>those </span>
  </em>
  <span>people,” Chen Le whispered under his breath. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xiaojun leaned against the wall, crossing his arms as he watched the sun setting. “Eh, he kind of is. I wonder how he got time off at the palace.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“.8 mm filament?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaemin handed the copper filament to Jaehyun. “Here you go, sir.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, bud.” Jaehyun used the pincers to install it carefully in the small metal box he had been building for the past hour. “Renjun, you okay? You look like you’re going to past out.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The floor seemed to sway underneath Renjun. “I’m fine, boss,” he whispered, holding on the table to stay steady. “It’ll go away.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun frowned. “Have you drank water today?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Renjun shook his head, collapsing on the ground. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Taeyong, can you please bring me a water bottle?” Jaehyun asked, rushing to Renjun’s side to help him get up. “Or two- no, the whole set, bring me the whole set, please.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong nodded, heading back into the main room as Jaehyun and Jaemin both helped Renjun get off the ground and sit down on a nearby chair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, sir, I forgot being human requires me drinking fluids,” Renjun said, his eyes half-closed. “It explains why I’ve been low in energy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No worries about it, Renjun, it’ll take you some time to get used to it,” Jaehyun admitted, grabbing a nearby towel to wipe off some sweat off of Renjun’s forehead. “To be fair, I have never kept you out of the machines for this long.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaemin patted Renjun’s hair. “It’s fine, Renjun, wait until you learn about sleep, it’s wonderful I tell you-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong rushed into the room, water bottles in hand. “Sir, there’s someone here who wants to see you,” he interrupted, eyes wide. “It’s the advisor.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>things are gonna be picking up, lol :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Big Arrivals</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Your prototypes are a failure, I tell you,” Lee-eun said, scolding Jaehyun. “You gave them one order, ONE, and they couldn’t even do anything. Have you even managed to find their whereabouts?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun glared at Lee-eun, arms crossed in front of them. “Sometimes when you make something perform a task that wasn’t there initial purpose, there’s going to be room for trial and error,” he said, looking at Renjun and Taeyong, who were looking at the ground, silent. “You know I didn’t created them to hurt others-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But you said they were capable of many things,” Lee-eun argued. “Only one of the models managed to kill some people but the other three? Pathetic.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, yeah? I’ll like to see you make humans from scratch, cause you’re not going to get it from having a woman-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lee-eun took out his sword and held it under Jaehyun’s chin, the blade almost slicing the skin. “I can throw you in for treason whenever I want, so don’t test me, Sir Jung, now tell me, </span>
  <em>
    <span>where </span>
  </em>
  <span>are the other two?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong stepped forward. “We have an insider who found their location but said their on the move,” he lied to Lee-eun, forcing himself to look at him in the eye. “Jaehyun is doing all his best.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lee-eun stared at him for a good few seconds before lowering the blade from Jaehyun’s neck, motioning his guards to leave with him. “You have five days to give me that location,” Lee-eun warned him, heading out the door. “Or it’s off with your head.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He left the lab, his guards closely behind him. Jaemin rushed to close the door after him, breathing  heavily. “Sir what are we going to do-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun looked at Taeyong, fists balled in anger. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Why </span>
  </em>
  <span>would you say that?!” he yelled at him, swiping all of the papers and machinery on the table to the floor. “What the hell is wrong with you?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I- he was going to hurt you, sir,” Taeyong explained, his arms and lips trembling. “I couldn’t- I really tried to-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>thought he was going to do something to me?!” Jaehyun shrieked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaemin dove to the floor, hastily trying to pick up the papers that Jaehyun had dropped. “Sir, maybe we can finish it by that date-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, you guys don’t understand, he’s going to try to kill people and I’ll take all the responsibility!” Jaehyun yelled at the three of them. “Do you guys not see what type of problem we have here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Renjun glared at Jaehyun, balled fists at his side. “If we’re such a burden to you, then just fucking destroy us then,” he sneered at him. “It’s not like we’ll ever be considered your equal anyways.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He marched out of the room into the smaller lab room where their tubes are, shutting the door behind him despite Jaemin running after him, leaving Taeyong and Jaehyun alone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong bent down and picked up the papers silently, stacking them into neat piles when Jaehyun called out to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, um, I’m sorry,” Jaehyun started, scratching the back of his head. “I forgot you guys still have yet to understand social cues, and-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I promise to be more obedient sir,” Taeyong said, setting the papers on the desk as he set to pick up the metal scraps. “And to not get involved in your personal matters.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck woke up early in the morning, and when he got out of the guest room, Johnny still snoring on the bed, he noticed the house was pretty silent as well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He stepped out into the hallway slowly, yawning. Hopefully he didn’t make too much noise and disrupt the… how many people were in this house again? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a folded blanket on the end of the couch, so he grabbed it and wrapped it around his body, wondering how the hell was the house so cold in the morning. What time was it, anyways? Now that he thought about it, did Xiaojun even have a clock in the house?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Early or not, Donghyuck’s stomach was rumbling, so he stumbled his way into the kitchen, accidentally stubbing his toe against the kitchen table, and he had to bite his lips raw in order to not let out a scream. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He did fall onto the floor, though, as he held his foot, whining about the pain. Surely he did something in his past life to deserve all this misery? What could he have possibly done anyways?!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My poor toes!” he cried quietly, biting his lip while groaning. They hurt so bad, someone </span>
  <em>
    <span>please </span>
  </em>
  <span>just cut them off now-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck felt someone carry him, and if it weren’t for the pain in his toes, he would have twisted his body to see who it was, but frankly, he didn’t care at the moment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The person set him down on the soft couch, and that’s when Donghyuck got a good look at the person who turned out to be-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you okay?” Mark asked him, standing in front of him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck stared at him with wide eyes, confused. He had completely forgotten about the assassin robot superhuman whatever guy they had held hostage. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine,” he lied, even though he still wanted to die inside. “Johnny always calls me clumsy, anyways.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark nodded, looking at the ground where Donghyuck fell where the latter had dropped the blanket after falling in agony. Without thinking twice, he walked towards it and picked up the blanket.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The temperature in the house is below sixty degrees,” Mark informed him, laying the blanket of Donghyuck’s body. “You have to stay warm and not get sick.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll have you known, I have a good immune system,” Donghyuck said. “Unlike Johnny and my parents. They always got sick.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark nodded again. “Better safe than sorry.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, better safe than… sorry…” Donghyuck muttered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark looked out the window and headed towards the door. “It was nice to meet you,” he said, opening the door to leave. “But I must go, if by what you guys have told me is true, Jaehyun has a possibility of being in danger-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck sat up on the couch, his dramatic antics about his stubbed toes gone. “Who’s Jaehyun?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The… the one in charge of me,” Mark said. He didn’t know the intentions of these people, and even though he sensed they were harmless, he did not get a good vibe from the brother who kept making accusations about him. Maybe he would betray him in the long run, Mark thought. Yeah, it was better to be safe then sorry, as he said. He’s heard that quote from Jaehyun before, multiple times. “I’m sensing he might be in danger, and I need to go back and help him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But you’re a wanted criminal!” Donghyuck explained. He grabbed one of the newspapers on the coffee table and held it up for Mark to see. “See? You and some other people were seen and people think you are working together.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark’s eyes widened when he saw the picture of Model L. He had been given a name last minute, but he had forgotten, since the four of them were soon given their orders. “Oh no.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, they didn’t get you and these others that well, but first of all, you’re in that exact same outfit,” Donghyuck pointed out, referencing the dark clothing Mark had on. “They’re going to know you in the first five seconds after you walk out of that door.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark looked down on his clothing. There were a lot of enhanced fibers that Jaehyun had woven together for the five of them, making it fireproof, waterproof, cut resistant, and didn’t weigh him down. “This outfit is for my protection.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And you would be </span>
  <em>
    <span>better </span>
  </em>
  <span>protected if you didn’t look like someone who tried to assassinate the royal family,” Donghyuck said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Switching glances between Donghyuck and his clothing, Mark sighed in defeat. “I’ll change it but where am I going to get spare clothes?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck whipped the blanket off of him and jumped off the couch, landing on his perfectly two good feet as if they weren’t causing him misery a minute before. “This is what I call doing something that will annoy your brother but with a </span>
  <em>
    <span>tad </span>
  </em>
  <span>bit aegyo, he’ll forgive you,” Donghyuck explained, grabbing Mark’s hand and leading him back into the hallway. “We’ll have to raid Johnny’s clothes.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To see the assassin wearing his tight pair of jeans (they always made him look fine, in Johnny’s opinion, which is why he always wore them around Ten) and one of his white t-shirts during breakfast made Johnny take out his blade with no second thoughts, only to get smacked on the back of his head a minute later. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mark needed a shower and some clothes,” Donghyuck explained, ignoring Johnny throwing daggers into his eyes. “And my clothes are too small for him."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And you gave him </span>
  <em>
    <span>my </span>
  </em>
  <span>stuff?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck shrugged, picking up his fork. “See, maybe if you made me my grilled cheese yesterday, we wouldn’t be having this problem.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny opened his mouth to scold his oddball of a brother who </span>
  <em>
    <span>clearly </span>
  </em>
  <span>had no regards for his safety, only to be interrupted by Xiaojun next. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can you </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>argue when it’s crack of dawn?” he asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee. “We get it. Mark tried to murder Donghyuck, Johnny, what part of him being a robot being mandated do you not understand?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not a robot,” Mark corrected him. “I’m a human-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A human who is still going to be involved in a small ‘accident’ anytime soon,” Johnny muttered, stabbing a piece of his toast. “I told you not to get close to him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I don’t care about your opinion.” Donghyuck grabbed another piece of bacon and put it on Mark’s plate, the latter chewing his food slowly. “If you truly are stronger than Johnny here, you need to eat more-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Johnny, you’re bending that fork,” Kun pointed out. He didn’t talk much during table conversations. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No I’m not,” Johnny lied. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xiaojun sighed, handing Johnny the day’s newspaper. “Please don’t destroy my silverware, remember you’re helping me today.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why is it called silverware if it’s not made out of silver?” Donghyuck asked, curious. He used his fork to stab a piece of his apple. “Not that I’m complaining, I’m allergic to silver.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A rare allergy only found in one percent of the population,” Xiaojun added, quoting a magazine that he read a few months ago on the anniversary of the King’s dead brother. “But yeah, who knows, I just use cheap metal.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>***</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span></span>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“You think this cheap piece of metal is going to handle your weight as you climb up the tree?” Chen Le scolded Yangyang, who was setting a thin steel ladder against the tree trunk. “It’s so rusty, it’s going to collapse.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yangyang frowned. “Are you calling me fat?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chen Le rolled his eyes. “No, I’m calling this thing useless,” he corrected him. “Besides, how are we going to be fat if we can barely eat?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, that soup yesterday was delicious.” Yangyang set his foot on the first rung and got on the ladder, ignoring how it seemed to be bending due to his weight. “I’m going to sit on that branch and look at the world above.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Say hi to death for me,” Chen Le muttered, walking away. “I’m going to get the hoes so that we can start soon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yangyang climbed until he reached the first branch, lifting his foot over it. “Yes, more food for later.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He watched Chen Le walk away as he heaved himself onto the branch, managing to throw his body over it. It really did seem unstable, but hopefully it wouldn’t collapse. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chen Le found the hoes from yesterday and dragged them to the field when he saw a carriage pass by on the road. For a second, he froze before remembering they were supposed to be safe here. Barely anyone saw them in the palace and no one would think they tried to hurt the royal family… would they?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He saw how someone from the carriage got out, staring at their surroundings. They looked insanely dressed up, they’re clothing too nice for being out here in the countryside. Probably a nobleman collecting taxes or whatever they did to mistreat peasants. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ignoring them, Chen Le called out to Yangyang, who was sitting on the branch. “Yangyang, come on, we have work to do!!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not yet, I like being- uh oh.” Yangyang heard a crack on the branch, feeling it go down a few inches. “Uh-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The branch snapped, falling off and taking Yangyang with him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He reached up to grab onto the part jutting out of the tree trunk, desperately trying to grab onto it but his fingers kept slipping. “CHEN LE!! I’M GOING TO FALL!!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chen Le dropped the hoes and dashed towards the tree, calling out to his friend, who unfortunately let go of the branch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luckily for Yangyang, he fell into someone’s arms. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The nobleman from earlier had run when he saw the branch snapped and managed to catch Yangyang, who was confused as to why he didn’t fall to the oblivion. He craned his neck to see the man that caught him and went laxed as realization hit, fainting in his arms. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chen Le caught up to the nobleman who was carrying Yangyang. “Oh my god, thank you for catching him,” he said in Korean, out of breath, looking at his unconscious friend. “He always puts himself in dangerous situations.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man shook his head. “No worries, I’m just glad your friend here is safe,” he said. “You said his name was…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yangyang,” Chen Le said. “I’m Chen Le, we’re both Chinese.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Chinese living in the Kingdom of Korea, interesting…” the man said. “Actually, your names sound quite familiar.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maybe we know you,” Chen Le said, shrugging. He placed the back of his hand on Yangyang’s forehead, wondering if the latter had a fever again. “What’s your name?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man lifted up Yangyang higher to get a better grip on him. “Officially known as Huang Guanheng, or Prince Hendery from the China Kingdom.”</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. SM Town is Kind of Crowded</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Prince Hendery set an unconscious Yangyang down on the porch, taking off his jacket (why do nobles want to be extra and wear a jacket in the heat?? Chen Le had no clue) and setting it under Yangyang’s as a sort of makeshift pillow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chen Le watching the whole ordeal, trying to think. If he had a gold piece every time Yangyang fainted in front of royalty, he would have two gold pieces. Not a lot, but weird considering how it happened twice, first with Prince Jisung and now with Prince Hendery. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hopefully this wasn’t going to be a habit. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hendery reached out to grab Yangyang’s hair but pulled back, stepping backwards. “I hope you friend gets better,” he told Chen Le, bowing. “He must have had quite a shock from falling.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He falls all the time, I wouldn’t be worried,” Chen Le said. “But thanks for rescuing him, Yangyang can be a bit… clumsy, I supposed,” he trailed off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hendery continued staring at Yangyang until sigh, glancing at the sky above. “Must be hot back in the main city,” he said to himself. “You guys are Chinese, do you guys want a ride back to the Kingdom? I’m on my way back after having met the royal family here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chen Le shook his head. “We don’t live in China, we live here,” he said, “Thanks for the offer, but we’re fine."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Chinese living in the Kingdom of Korea, that’s odd,” Hendery mumbled. “Why do you guys live out here? Family? A lover?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Orphans,” Chen Le flat out said. “In China we were kicked out of the orphanages.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hendery’s eyes widened. “That- that’s not true, the King- my father gives them money to make sure each child is taken care of.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chen Le shrugged. “It was a long time ago, and people always lie.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I- that can’t be possible,” Hendery started muttering to himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chen Le sat down next to a fainted Yangyang, who was starting to stir in his sleep. “We live in the Kingdom of Korea now, so don’t think too much about it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hendery shook his head, still talking to himself when a realization struck him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He turned to look at Chen Le, pointing at him. “You’re the one who trespassed the palance,” he said, proving himself to be correct when Chen Le’s eyes widened. “Yes, you and your friend here, Prince Jisung told me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That little- I mean tall- I mean, uh, your highness, why did he mention that in passing?” Chen Le asked, forcing himself to speak more formally. Last thing he needed was for nobles like him to continue thinking stereotypes of peasants being uneducated, even though Chen Le and Yangyang never even finished elementary. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Surely you’ve heard of the incident regarding the Korean royal family?” Hendery explained. “The assassination attempt on them, they’re trying to find the culprits and-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let me guess, they think we’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>suspects</span>
  </em>
  <span>?!” Chen Le screamed at him, not caring if he was a prince or not. Why should that matter to him anyway? “Tell this Jisung that we have nothing to do with it, Yangyang just wanted to see the goddamn castle that you rich people always hide yourselves into, and leave us alone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chen Le shook Yangyang’s shoulders, trying to awaken him from his slumber. “Yangyang, get up, we have to do the crops soon-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t mean any harm,” Hendery said, trying to explain himself. “That’s just how I heard of you and your friends name-” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m even surprised he remembered it,” Chen Le said, finally hearing a groan from Yangyang. “Wake up, I told you not to climb that tree and you didn’t listen to me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yangyang opened his eyes, yawning, eyes opening for a brief second only to close them again when the sunlight hit his face. “My back is broken.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Quite exaggerating, Prince Hendery caught you-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yangyang fully opened his eyes, not caring about the sun anymore. “Did you say </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hendery</span>
  </em>
  <span>?!-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yangyang, please don’t faint, I’m begging you- aaaaaand he faint.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am sensing a lot of people nearby,” Mark said, ignoring the glares of that Johnny fellow sending to him. He had gotten quite used to them by now, knowing Johnny wasn’t capable of harming him. “There’s people outside this house-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s nosy neighbors, I’m sure,” Xiaojun said, not sparing him a glance as he was trying to pry off a small metal filament off the control panel. “They like to bother me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck sat at the kitchen table doing nothing, watching the whole process. Xiaojun wanted to take apart the metal and see how the whole process was made, since the ability of being able to control someone’s brain with pieces of metal practically required magic. And from what he understood, Mark  had been built in a lab from scratch, not having any biological parents. Mark delved into some science jargon that Xiaojun, being the smart person he was, was able to understand, but Donghyuck tuned out ten seconds in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(Also, there was </span>
  <em>
    <span>no </span>
  </em>
  <span>way he was calling him Model M or Minhyung, he had gotten quite attached to the name Mark  if he was honest.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How’d you meet Kun?” Johnny asked, taking advantage of the fact that Kun was too busy doing something in the basement. “I’m going to assume you guys are a thing.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>not,</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Xiaojun said, though Donghyuck noticed he broke into a small smile, his face turning a light shade of pink. “I’ve only known him for a month, anyways.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, you guys act like you’ve known each other forever,” Johnny continued, trying to pry more information from Xiaojun. Xiaojun had been a really quiet person back when they used to study together, so the fact that he managed to befriend Kun, a serious guy who barely ever speaks, was beyond his understanding. “Really odd.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I just found him outside one day and he had no place to go,” Xiaojun explained, remembering how he had found Kun outside in the dark, tired to the verge of collapsing. “So I offered him a place to stay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry, Xiaojun, Johnny just lacks compassion,” Donghyuck said jokingly, only to get smacked at the back of his head by his older brother. “What was that for?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Since I </span>
  <em>
    <span>clearly </span>
  </em>
  <span>lack compassion, you’re not getting any from me,” Johnny said. “Rude. After all I’ve done for you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck rolled his eyes, figuring Johnny was still mad since he ate all his cheese. Speaking of cheese… “Says the guy who can’t even make me a grilled cheese-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I got goat cheese from the market,” Xiaojun said, using his screwdriver to remove a screw. There was a compartment that seemed to be hiding a chip. Why it would be hidden, he didn’t know. “Some sourdough, too, you should be able to make a grilled cheese later-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Xiaojun, don’t spoil him!” Johnny yelled at him. “He never listens to me anyways!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xiaojun glared at him. “It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>just </span>
  </em>
  <span>a sandwich, Johnny-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You guys are boring, I’m going to take Mark outside with me,” Donghyuck said, getting out of his chair. He grabbed Mark’s arm, surprising the latter who had been quiet this entire time, “Tell me when you discover something cool-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Now</span>
  </em>
  <span> where do you think you’re going?” Johnny yelled at him, watching Donghyuck pull Mark along and take him away. “DONGHYUCK-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let him live, you’re overprotective sometimes,” Xiaojun muttered. “Besides, he made a friend, that’s better than me… trying to take apart these </span>
  <em>
    <span>damn </span>
  </em>
  <span>screws!!!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>‘Mark is a </span>
  <em>
    <span>murderer</span>
  </em>
  <span>-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Johnny, if you don’t shut up, I swear to god, I will shove this screwdriver down your throat,” Xiaojun threatened him. “Now pass me the damn lockpick or I swear Mark won’t be the only murdered in this house.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where are you taking me?” Mark asked, confused as to why Donghyuck would want to take him to wherever it was where he was going. “Are we doing something?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck shook his head. “Nah, I’m bored and I want to explore, you can help defend any bad guys who try to kill me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark frowned. “People trying to kill you is a common occurrence?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nah, Johnny likes to worry about what-if scenarios, he’s kind of weird if I’m honest,” Donghyuck explained, pointing to a forest nearby the house. “What if we go there-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That doesn’t sound safe,” Mark said, remembering all of Jaehyun’s advice in his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck pouted. “You sound like an old person,” he said, dragging Mark to where the forest was. “You’re so strong, I bet you can climb that tall tree over there with- holy, that’s an apple tree!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark craned his neck to see the top of the tree that Donghyuck was looking at, which was indeed an apple tree. “Do you want me to get an apple for you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, tons! I love apples and all the apple desserts!” Donghyuck exclaimed, clapping his hands. “You’ll really get me an apple?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark cracked his wrists, trying to prep his muscles. “I’ll get you an apple,” he reassured the strange human being with hazel eyes known as Donghyuck. </span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Jaehyun made dinner for them, a simple meal of rice and beef, it was awfully quiet during the meal. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It had been like that for the past few hours, with Renjun not bothering to be near Jaehyun, Jaemin too worried after him, and Taeyong sitting awfully still, not wanting to cause any commotion. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now, though, during meal time, Jaehyun forced everyone to eat at the table, and the silence was unnerving.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Even Jaemin, who was normally talkative, was being quiet. When it was just him and Jaemin in the past, his assistant alway managed to chatter a lot during meals, always having something to say, whether something cool that happened to him or asking a question about Jaehyun’s project. Now, however… nothing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He watched Jaemin grab another forkful of rice. At least he was eating, compared to the other two. Renjun took a bite every three minutes and Taeyong just pushed the food around in his plate. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun unnecessarily cleared his throat, turning everyone’s attention towards him. “I made a blueprint of what I need to build in order to find Minhyung and Yukhei,” he said, “I made a list of what needs to be done tomorrow and I hope you guys can help me with it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure thing, sir,” Jaemin said, taking a sip of his water. “I’ll run any necessary errands you have in mind.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, thanks about that,” Jaehyun said, nodding. As an assistant, Jaemin never slacked off in his work, which Jaehyun had always been thankful for. “It won’t be too much, I wouldn’t want to exhaust you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaemin nodded as well, picking up his half-full plate. “I should be heading home soon, my mother is waiting for me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re leaving already?” Renjun asked, the first words Jaehyun has heard from the latter that evening.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, my mother still needs help with some stuff,” Jaemin explained. “I’ll see you tomorrow, don’t worry!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Renjun nodded, staring back at his plate. “I’m also done eating,” he mumbled, getting up as well. “I’m really tired.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaemin and Renjun left the table, Renjun to the back room and Jaemin out the main door, leaving Jaehyun alone with Taeyong. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong, in question, was still pushing around his food, having only taken less than three bites when Jaehyun spoke up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Look, I’m really sorry about last time,” Jaehyun said. “I’ve just… I’ve just been in a lot of stress and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong nodded. “I understand, I stepped out of line-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, what you did is fine, I get it,” Jaehyun interrupted him. “I know we’re in a big mess right now but I promise that we can get out of it, I’m sure. It’s just going to take a while.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s good to hear,” Taeyong mumbled. “I just hope you don’t get hurt."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun laughed. “I’m not going to get hurt, don’t be worried about me,” he said. “We have to make sure you guys are safe first.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He forgot how many days he’s been running now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Has it been a few days? Maybe a week? He didn’t know, he just had to keep running. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’s been able to steal some food here and there, some containers of water, but he’s sure he’s out of danger by now. He had the feeling people would recognize him, so he stole a black hoodie and some clothing from some peasants and wore them to conceal his identity. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No one must ever know who he is. </span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Apple, Tea, Apple Tea</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>sorry for the late update, I haven't updated any of my stories in a while, I was going through some stuff and feeling down and useless for a while, but I'm back on track, I think</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Donghyuck and Mark walked back to the house, with Donghyuck proudly carrying all the apples that Mark had knocked off from the trees for him. He had run out of cheese to eat, but apples were another favorite snack of his, so he didn’t mind one bit, plus, he had even gotten these for free! Johnny surely couldn’t complain about that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I love apples,” he proudly said, skipping gleefully next to the weird robot assassin guy next to him, Mark, who was walking casually next to him while Donghyuck skipped everywhere. “I could surely use an apple pie right now, or apple roses, god, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>love </span>
  </em>
  <span>apple roses.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark turned to look at him, titling his head in confusion. “I can remember what an apple pie is,” he said, remembering how Jaehyun’s assistant Jaemin always brought in desserts from the kitchen, always having a ‘sweet tooth’, according to Jaehyun. “But I don’t recall having heard about an apple rose before.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck slowed down his skipping, making sure not to drop any apples. They probably should have brought a basket, he thought to himself. “It’s just something my mom used to make, she made it up,” Donghyuck said softly, smiling. “Sometimes she would make a caramel dip for us to eat it with.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark nodded, still not knowing what an apple rose was. “Sounds… sugary,” he said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Heck yeah, it had a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lot </span>
  </em>
  <span>of sugar,” Donghyuck said. “I wasn’t allowed to eat sweets before bedtime because I would get ‘hyper’, apparently, but it’s obviously a big lie, I always see Johnny eating cakes from the palace right before he goes to sleep,” he explained. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They reached the back of the house, where they could see the two Chinese working in the fields, one raising a hoe above him shouting he was the worm king, the other shouting at his friend to go back to what they were doing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That looks like fun,” Donghyuck said. “I want to help hoe the fields.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark opened the door for Donghyuck to walk in, grabbing some of the apples to help him out. “You have to be careful while doing field work,” he warned him. “Constant sunlight for hours without protection can harm your skin-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yada yada yada, the sun can fight me.” Donghyuck stepped into the house, struggling to carry the apples, while shouting, “JOHNNY!!! I BROUGHT APPLES!!! CAN WE MAKE APPLE PIE?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I thought you wanted apple roses,” Mark reminded him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck shrugged. “Only my mom knew how to make them. I would try but I’m not good with knives-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny came into view, frowning. “Where did you get those apples?!” he yelled at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck rolled his eyes, predicting another lecture coming. “I went exploring with Mark here, he’s like a human compass,” Donghyuck explained, holding out the apples. “We can make apple pie-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Haechan, that’s dangerous,” Johnny scolded him. “And I told you to call me Youngho while we’re here, now go put those apples back, you don’t know what dirt or insects they can have.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny (or Youngho, if he wanted to play these stupid games) walked away, adding, “And don’t leave that far from here, we don’t know anyone in this town.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck stared at the apples in his hands, sighing. “If only mom were here,” he muttered to himself. “She would make me an apple pie or rose.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark stared at Donghyuck, a new feeling washing over him, one that he couldn’t exactly pinpoint. Sadness, if he remembered correctly from Jaehyun. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yeah, sadness. It was pretty sad to see Donghyuck with the rejected apples in his hands, a tear falling down his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can help you make an apple pie,” Mark suggested, watching how Donghyuck immediately whipped his head up to look at Mark. “Or an apple rose, though I don’t know what ingredients are to be used-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’d make an apple rose?” Donghyuck asked, grinning again. “Apple roses!! I haven’t had one in over two years!! Of course I know the recipe by heart!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck rushed into the kitchen, thankful that Johnny and Xiaojun were probably doing work in the basement, leaving the whole first floor to themselves. He set the apples on the table and turned on the faucet, splashing cold water on one of the apples, scrubbing it vigorously. “We have to wash the apples first and then you have to make thin slices and curl them up into rose shapes,” he rambled, setting the clean apple down and grabbing another one. “And you arrange them in a pan and you make a sugar mixture and sprinkle it on top and then for the caramel dip you have to melt sugar-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark couldn’t remember the other models, having never interacted with them until that split second before they were awakened to set their task, but even though he hadn’t had much experience with humans, he had a feeling Donghyuck was a bit of one of a kind. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“ I AM THE WORM KING!!” Yangyang was shouting in Korean, hoe above his head. “ALL MUST BOW DOWN TO ME!!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chen Le rolled his eyes, sighing as he continued to till the earth. “Yangyang, people are going to start staring,” he scolded him in Mandarin.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yangyang waved him off. “Nah, don’t you see all these empty fields everywhere? The countryside is very vast, if I do say so myself, we’re not going to find anyone here,” he said, setting the hoe upright so that he could lean his head on it. “But hopefully we find Prince Hendery again, he was very handsome-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You with your obsessions again,” Chen Le mumbled under his breath. He didn’t say anything out loud, though, not wanting to ruin Yangyang’s interest. “Let’s just finish here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can’t find any more worms though,” Yangyang said, pouting. “I miss the worms, them along with you are my only friends in this cruel, cruel, wasteland- OH MY GOD, CHEN LE-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yangyang had been swinging the hoe in his hand and accidentally lost his grip, throwing it right to Chen Le’s direction. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The metal part of the hoe hit Chen Le’s shin, causing the latter to abruptly drop his own and lift up his foot in pain. “YANGYANG!! THAT HURTS!!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’M SO SORRY!!” Yangyang shouted, rushing to Chen Le’s side and holding on to him. “I DIDN’T MEAN IT-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chen Le hissed in pain, rubbing the sore spot on his shin while pushing Yangyang away. “Don’t worry, just- ow, that hurts, dang it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He set his foot back down on the ground, limping away from the area that they had been working at. “I’m going to find some herbs,” he said, clenching his teeth as he tried not to think about the bruise that was surely going to form later. “Give me five minutes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Chen Le, I’m really sorry,” Yangyang said. “I’m sorry, let me find some instead-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yangyang, it’s fine,” Chen Le said, waving him off as he hobbled away, wanting to cry in pain. “You don’t know the herbs anyways.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He inched his way slowly to where the trees were, hoping there were some arnica plants nearby. They helped with bruising and swelling a lot, having learned it from overhearing old women at the markets when Chen Le was trying to steal a piece of fruit for dinner. He tried it on his own once when Yangyang got tossed around from some bullies in an alley, and it certainly helped, to his amazement. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chen Le found some of the plant next to some trees on the side of the road, so he decided to sit down on the moss for a few minutes, rubbing on the sore spot on his shin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The pain will go away soon, he told himself. It always did, plus they had bigger things to worry about then some bruise forming. Chen Le knew they weren’t going to last here forever, so they had to save up all their gold pieces and make it last as much as possible and to be careful that no one would steal them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You look like you’re in thought.” Chen Le looked up to see a tall person leaning against a tree. “I’m surprised you left Neo City so soon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chen Le squinted his eyes at him. This guy looked familiar, though he couldn’t remember from where. “I’m sorry, do I know you?” he asked. “And how do you know I was in Neo City anyways?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The guy stepped away from the tree, bowing down 45 degrees. “You said your name was Chen Le if I recall correctly,” he said. “And your friend had fallen ill for a bit. Hopefully he is okay.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chen Le could feel the light bulb go off in his head, but he wasn’t like Yangyang who was going to start worshiping this guy’s feet. “Oh, the guy in the palace,” he recalled. “The one who actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>lives </span>
  </em>
  <span>there.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Prince Jisung gave an awkward shrug. “I mean… I guess? Technically? I didn’t lie, though, I don’t really do much.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chen Le rolled his eyes, pushing himself up. “Well, thank you for your concern, but Yangyang is fine,” he said, leaning against the tree beside him for support. “Tell your friend Prince Hendery thank you for catching him falling off a tree, too. I’m surprised you even talked to him about us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t miss how red Jisung’s face became. “You- you have to understand that it was a coincidence,” he explained. “And I’m assuming you heard of my father almost getting assassinated.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I have nothing to do with that, I don’t even know what he looks like,” Chen Le said. “And Yangyang worships you guys anyways, plus, he can’t even hurt a stupid worm."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s mildly intriguing,” Jisung muttered before glancing at the red sore on Chen Le’s shin. “You got injured.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yangyang was being reckless.” Chen Le took a step forward, wincing. “I’m fine.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, no, I have some tea, you should have some.” Jisung stood in front of him, holding out his hand. “May I?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chen Le sighed. He doesn’t remember the last time he had tea, and he could sure use some right now. “Don’t try anything with me, your highness,” he said, mocking him. “I will scream.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung couldn’t help but grin at the meaningless threat. “I wouldn’t dare.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sir, would you like some tea right now?” Jaemin said, bouncing with excitement as he held an apple in his hand. “Renjun says he’s never tried tea before, and Taeil gave up some croissants and I thought it would pair nicely.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun was at his desk, trying to work out some measurements, Taeyong right beside him offering input when necessary. “Tea does sound good,” he commented, taking off his glasses. “What tea did you have in mind Jaemin?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Apple tea with a dash of cinnamon!” Jaemin exclaimed proudly. “It’s my mom’s secret recipe, too, so I just </span>
  <em>
    <span>know </span>
  </em>
  <span>Renjun would like it! He liked the meatloaf I brought in this morning that she made.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, your mother’s cooking is good,” Jaehyun agreed. “I am in the mood for some apple tea, would you like apple tea, Taeyong?” he asked Taeyong beside him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong glanced at Jaemin and Jaehyun. “I don’t recall having tried tea,” he admitted. “I don’t know if I would like it-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, then of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course </span>
  </em>
  <span>you have to try it!” Jaemin dashed away, heading towards the main room where he and Renjun had been scraping old paint of scrap pieces of metal. “I’m going to make tea!!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun shook his head, laughing at Jaemin’s antics, as he picked up his pencil again to work on the measurements. “Trust me, you’ll love the apple tea,” Jaehyun told Taeyong. “It’s not your normal tea, like jasmine or chamomile, but it’s pretty good. It’s also good for your immune system- well, not that you guys have to worry about that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong nodded in understanding. “Tea does provide a lot of antioxidants,” he recalled. “It’s good for your body.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, it really is,” Jaehyun said, staring at Taeyong. “For once, I’m having something good for my body.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It should be a routine, though,” Taeyong continued, unbothered that Jaehyun was still staring at him. “You need to take care of yourself more or you’ll get ill.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun shook his head. “Nah, no one cares if I get sick, it’s not like I have any family, anyways.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong played with his fingers, looking at his lap. “I’m sorry to hear that, sir.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nah, don’t worry about,” Jaehyun said, going back to his sketches. “It’s why I became a scientist, you know? I just want to make life better for everyone-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“SIR!!” Jaemin rushed back into the room, panting and out of breath. “WE RAN OUT OF WATER, I HAVE TO GO GET SOME MORE!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun frowned. “That doesn’t sound healthy- Jaemin, why don’t you and Renjun go get some more, steal some more of Taeil’s pastries while you’re at it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaemin gave him a salute before dashing away, yelling at Renjun that they had a field trip.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong gave a small smile, still looking at his lap. “I thought you were going to be more healthy,” he joked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun waved him off. “Nah, it doesn’t hurt being unhealthy every once in a while.”</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>i know my writing sucks but I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Caring</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>sorry for updating my stories late! I've been going through a lot, from depression, covid circumstances, and work so im trying to get back on track!!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Donghyuck watched Mark melt two cups of sugar on the stove, stirring the hot liquid around with the cooking spoon. “That looks really good,” he said slowly, watching the caramel swirl around.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sugar has a high melting point,” Mark commented, turning down the heat right when the timer on the stove went off. “The apple roses should be ready.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“YES!” Donghyuck shrieked, eagerly putting on his oven mitts. “I’m starving, I bet I can eat the whole pan right this instant.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark wanted to mention how Donghyuck had to wait a few minutes for it to cool before he could take a bite, but since the latter kept gushing about how he always hate them years ago, it would be kind of redundant to tell him to be careful; Donghyuck seemed to know what to do. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He moved a bit to let Donghyuck take out the pan from the oven, where Mark caught a whiff of the apple and sugar. “Pretty!!” Donghyuck squealed, setting it carefully on the stovetop while staring at it in awe. “It looks so crispy!!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark grabbed the bowl Donghyuck had set nearby and set it down on the counter. “Be careful, I’m going to pour in the caramel,” he said, lifting up the saucepan from the stove, pouring the contents in the ceramic bowl. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pfft, this isn’t my first time,” Donghyuck said, pulling open the drawer. “I need to find a knife, I must try a piece right now on the spot.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He rummaged his hands in the drawer, trying to find a knife when he found it through the worst way possible. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dammit!” he screamed, pulling back his hand, a line of blood spilling from a cut. “Ow!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark’s eyes widened when he saw the cut on Donghyuck’s hand. Without saying anything else, he hastily set down the saucepan back on the stove and grabbed Donghyuck’s arm, pulling him towards the sink. “You have to wash it off,” he instructed him, turning off the faucet. “And disinfect it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck didn’t say anything, trying to ignore the stinging pain on his hand. He decided to focus on Mark’s grip on him, totally a stark contrast from when Mark had his hands around his neck-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh. Yeah. He forgot why they were here in the first place. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You want to kill me one minute and the next you’re helping me with a little cut on my finger,” he said under his breath. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It was never intentional,” Mark said, turning off the faucet when he saw how the water was running clear now. “I’ll find you some bandages-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, don’t worry about it,” Donghyuck said. “It’s not that major, you know, I’ve had worst ones on my knees before. Plus, it’s not like I need a blood transfusion or something.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark nodded, though he still thought it would be best to get a bandage. “Well, you’re O+, which you’ll have to remember if you ever </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>need one.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck frowned. “That’s impossible, I can’t be O+. How do you even know that anyways?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Antigens found in blood make up your blood type,” Mark explained. “You have the Rh antigen, but not the ones found in A or B people.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But-but both of my parents were AB,” Donghyuck explained. “Johnny is B, I have to be A, B or AB.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark shrugged. “My identification system could be faulty,” he said, “but you should still get an accurate testing of your blood type should you ever need a transfusion.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck nodded. “Maybe one of my parents was wrong or something,” he mumbled. “Wait, we forgot!” he dug his hand in the drawer again (careful this time) and took out the knife. “We should eat dessert now.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“So how was life like before you came here?” Xiaojun asked, looking through his boxes in the basement for some wires. “You quit schooling and went to work.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny shrugged. “I had to earn money somehow,” he said. “You know about my parents passing away.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xiaojun made a surprised face. “Sorry, I honestly forgot about that,” he mumbled, looking away. “I’m really sorry-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t be, I get what you’re asking,” Johnny said. He knew Xiaojun didn’t mean it maliciously, seeing how he also lost his own parents when he was young. “But… I mean, I got a job at the palace, which pays okay. The royal family doesn’t really do anything, but the advisor is such an asshole.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not surprised, they tend to be like that,” Xiaojun said, taking out a cardboard box. “From what I know, there’s a really hidden rumor that he killed the King’s younger brother and his family back when we were young children.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The wife and the newborn baby,” Johnny recalled. “Would he really go through that extreme? Wouldn’t it make sense to kill the older brother?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why are you asking me, do I know what his intentions were?” Xiaojun said. He took out a handful of wires from the box. “I think these should do the trick, though I’m not really sure- god, when is Kun coming back? He’s so good at this stuff."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny raised an eye at him. “Are you sure nothing is going on between you two?” he asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing, </span>
  </em>
  <span>now leave me alone and answer my question,” Xiaojun said, standing back up. “Fuck, my bones cracked.”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re so old,” Johnny joked. “But to be serious… I mean, when I work, Doyoung often keeps an eye on Donghyuck- you remember Doyoung, right?” he asked Xiaojun. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that guy always hated me,” Xiaojun recalled. “I was pretty sure he could kill someone, matter fact, I think he </span>
  <em>
    <span>has</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny tried to stifle a laugh. “The introvert who tries to get Donghyuck to do aegyo?” Johnny asked. “Xiaojun, you’re really funny.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, ex</span>
  <em>
    <span>cuse </span>
  </em>
  <span>me for having random irrational fears,” Xiaojun said, grabbing a toolbox and handing it to Johnny. “Hurry up and take this, we got stuff to do.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yangyang felt really bad for accidentally hurting his best friend, so he grabbed the hoe and started to work more seriously on the field, wanting his friend to rest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He knew that Chen Le went out to find some herbs for his bruise so he was going to take a while. Yangyang wasted no time to get to work on the crops. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This plot of land was going to be used for wheat, if Yangyang recalled correctly, which he thought was pretty cool. He’s always wanted to learn how to grow plants and fruits and vegetables, but you can’t really have your own place to grow stuff if you’re constantly moving from place to place trying to find some scraps to eat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He remembers how one time, Chen Le found some abandoned cake near the back of a bar, and even though it was enough for two people, he let Yangyang have all of it. It had been months since they had last tried cake, and October had passed, meaning so did Yangyang’s birthday. However, Chen Le was a year and a month younger than him, yet he still let Yangyang have it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yangyang was really tired of having to move all the time. He hated how they would have to find hidden alleys to hide from the rain, how cold it would get in the winter, how they would die of the heat in the summer. Their diets mainly consisted of practically rotten produce, or if they were feeling risky, some stolen ones. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yangyang liked to read those magazines that teens his age would read, but he could only read them if he found discard pieces in the trash. Still, though, he would treasure them, read them even though they still struggled with their Korean from time to time. He even had them hidden in a hole near a bridge, where he and Chen Le would sometimes sleep at. They don’t really have stuff to carry their belongings- not that they had belongings anyways. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yep. What a good life they have. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sun was starting to get hot, Yangyang realized; beads of sweat were forming on his forehead and he could feel how sticky he was getting. He promised he would advance on the field, though, so he didn’t want to stop.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It got harder to ignore, though, and soon Yangyang was panting, already cursing at the sun. Stupid sun, why did that thing have to exist, anyways? Making his life so complicated. Now he was going to have to find a lake and steal some soap and risk getting his fingers cut off. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yangyang looked off to the distance, wondering where Chen Le was and if he was okay, when he Chen Le sitting down besides a tree with- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Holy moly, was that </span>
  <em>
    <span>Prince Jisung???</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Why was he so lucky? Before he would have thought it would be a miracle to see the princes at least once before he died, and now he kept running into them. This was great! This was amazing! Prince Jisung was talking to Yangyang’s best friend in the </span>
  <em>
    <span>entire </span>
  </em>
  <span>world!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yangyang hoed the ground at a faster pace, wanting to get all the work done, despite it getting tiring. His knees were shaking but he didn’t want to stop, he didn’t want Chen Le to worry, no, he could never make his friend get worried. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t complain about his heatstroke one bit.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun had been in the middle of assembling a very important piece to find Yukhei’s whereabouts when a frantic Jeno came into the lab, which meant one thing: Lee-eun had come with him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t do anything, though, hearing how Jeno was rambling to Jaemin quietly as Lee-eun hadn’t come into the room yet. Jaehyun didn’t have anything to hide, and he was getting pretty tired of these games. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Plus, he had a plan to get Lee-eun to spill to prove Jaehyun’s innocence. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My, your place is a mess as always,” Lee-eun said, mentally criticizing everything in the main lab room even though Taeyong had been in a process of cleaning. “I hope it’s because you’ve been too busy trying to make progress.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun pushed away from his desk, glaring at Lee-eun. “I would like it if you don’t question my habits,” he said, turning his attention back at the contraption he had been working on. “Now if you excuse me, I’m really worried about finding Yukhei, so I would really appreciate it if you let me continue what I’m working on.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lee-eun didn’t look at him, grabbing a pile of papers that Taeyong had just organized, went through some of the sheets only to throw them all over the desk. “Really? You’ve been working? Where’s the proof of that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can’t rush science,” Jaehyun said, grabbing his hammer. “Why do you think it took me so long on these models? Rome wasn’t built in a day.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Lee-eun smirked, picking up a box of boring materials before throwing it hastily back on the ground. “It was destroyed in one, though,” he said. “Jeno! Come along, we have things to do, you idiot.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeno bowed down to Jaemin. “I’ll see you later, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he said before sprinting towards Lee-eun, wincing at the face slap his boss gave him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun waited until they were gone to sigh, staring at the state of the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaemin immediately picked up the box of scrap metal and picked the pieces back up. “Stupid son of a bitch thinking he can hurt Jeno like that,” he muttered to himself, </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not even two minutes later, Taeyong returned with a box of metal coils that Jaehyun had needed, only to get disappointed when he realized the mess that Lee-eun had left that now left Jaemin to clean it up. What worried him, though, was how Jaehyun had his face in his hands, not saying anything. “Sir, are you okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun still didn’t say anything in response, so he set the box of metal coils down and inched slowly to the royal scientist. “Jaehyun?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine,” Jaehyun muttered, taking his hands off his face. He ran them through his hair, forcing himself internally to not pull his hair, and picked up his hammer again. “I’m fine-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t notice how close Taeyong had gotten until he felt a warm palm on his cheek. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong was touching his face, albeit nervously, since it was almost hovering as if he were afraid of Jaehyun refusing the sudden contact. “Are you okay?” he asked again. “I don’t like it when you get stressed.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun stared at him wide-eyed for a few seconds before realizing that he still hadn’t answered Taeyong’s question. “I’ll get better later,” he said, holding Taeyong’s wrist. “Trust me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong nodded, letting go of Jaehyun’s face. “Ok,” he said. “I trust you. You know I always trust you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>late happy bday mark lee!!! we love you!!!</p><p>btw what made you guys like this story? i've been seeing lots of positive engagement with it and it makes me really happy :D i doubt my writing skills a lot so it's really nice</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. A Mystery</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>sorry for the late updates, im still going through some stuff. i hope you enjoy this chapter and NCT2020 IS CONFIRMED YESSSSSS</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Next to SM Town, there was a small village called Weishen, and despite being in the Kingdom of Korea, had a Chinese name. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jungwoo was the only Korean in the small village, the others mainly being native Chinese or, rarely, Cantonese speakers. The village having no Koreans but yet being part of the Kingdom of Korea was one of the main reasons the two countries had tensions with each other, though the current borders have been established over fifty years. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thus, when Jungwoo met </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he was able to understand his Cantonese completely. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His mother had been asleep and Jungwoo was staying up when he wasn’t supposed to; he often stayed up for hours, looking outside the window, staring at the moonlight if he had a nightmare, which is what he had been doing when he saw him outside. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The man had run across the field at a frighteningly quick speed, causing Jungwoo to stand up to see what was going on just to see him collapse in the middle of the field outside his house. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now worried, Jungwoo pushed off his blanket from his lap and quickly opened the sliding door of their living room, making sure not to wake his mother up, when he sprinted outside to help the fallen man. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His socks felt squishy as they got wet from the grass (it had rained earlier, which was really peaceful to watch) so he almost caught himself slipping a few times, but he managed to head over to where the man had fallen. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was dark, so Jungwoo couldn’t see his face clearly, but he looked a bit older, though Jungwoo couldn’t pinpoint it exactly. He did look familiar, though, but Jungwoo had no clue from where.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He bent down to look at the stranger’s face, startled by all the sweat and blood on him, when the stranger opened his eyes and looked straight at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jungwoo took a step back, startled, but the stranger held his hand out to grab him and looked at him dead in the eye. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kim Jungwoo, age 17, citizen of the Kingdom of Korea, please help me,” the man said in Cantonese before falling unconscious.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sir,” Yuta said, knocking on the doorway to signify that he was in the room. He was hiding a wrapped parcel behind his hands, not that Prince Jisung was looking at him. “The owner of the Inn is asking if you want to have breakfast in their dining room.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung glanced at Yuta before continuing to wrap bandages around his knuckles. “If it’s not Taeil’s pastries then I don’t want it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yuta rolled his eyes. “Yeah I figured,” he said, showing Jisung the parcel in his hands. “But I still can’t give you chocolate donuts for breakfast.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung instantly perked up at the mention of donuts. “The ones with rainbow sprinkles?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sir, you need breakfast first,” Yuta said, dodging the question. Of course they were the ones with sprinkles, how long has Yuta known Jisung again? “Taeil specifically told me to give them to you if you’re eating correctly.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Pouting, Jisung crossed his arms. “That’s not fair.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, it’s fair,” Yuta said, turning around to leave. “Let us know when you're ready to leave, your highness.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung sighed, grabbing his sword to latch on his belt and his dagger to hide before walking behind Yuta, following him to wherever the dining room was to have his breakfast. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yes, he knew that it was important to have balanced meals, having had it drilled it into his head as soon as he was taking private lessons (age three if you were asking). However, he has been way too concerned these past few days to even think about eating. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There were people out there who wanted him and his family dead, but… </span>
  <em>
    <span>who</span>
  </em>
  <span>? He wasn’t dumb, there were obviously going to be people who weren’t going to like the royal family, but the whole assassination attempt was just odd to think about. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His first thought had been a group of Chinese out to overthrow the Kingdom, but for one, the tall man who had attacked them was a Cantonese speaker, not Mandarin. Plus, there were talks about how one man was Korean, one who had appeared in the hallways with the same clothing as the Canto-speaker. Was it a group outside of the two Kingdoms planning to overthrow both? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Of course, a small part of him still told him to stay weary of the Chinese royal family, but Yuta, his own advisor and personal guard, had confidently told Jisung that he believed that the Huangs didn’t have a part in assassination attempt, and Yuta was </span>
  <em>
    <span>never </span>
  </em>
  <span>wrong. Speaking with Prince Hendery didn’t help him clear any suspicions, but it certainly didn’t create new ones. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung tried to push his worries aside as he was led to the dining room, where the people in the inn bowed down to show their respects to him. The innkeeper came up to him and greeted him, and while Jisung was being polite and greeting him in return, he still felt like his head was in the clouds. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yuta stayed by his side at all times as they sat down and ate the lavish breakfast that had been prepared for them. He took a few bites here and there, tasting everything in small portions, but at one point he could feel his stomach get queasy, so he pushed his chair back and stood up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yuta looked at him, surprised and worried. He had checked the food beforehand to make sure it wasn’t poison, but what if he didn’t try his best? “Your highness, are you feeling unwell?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Chocolate donuts would </span>
  <em>
    <span>never </span>
  </em>
  <span>do this to me,” Jisung muttered, clutching his stomach. “Sorry, I need to go outside for a bit, I think I need some rest.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll go with you,” Yuta said, standing up as well as he led Jisung out of the dining room, the two making their way towards outside. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The main social rooms of the inn were filled with people, causing Yuta to be on more high alert and wondering if he should call any of the other guards when the crowd of people split and they both realized why. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung reached out to have his hand over his dagger while Yuta on his sword as they made eye contact with Prince Hendery and the guards with him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hendery noticed him as well and, watching his guards lift up their own swords, gestured them not to. “Your highness,” he said, bowing down. “I didn’t fancy seeing you here.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung glared at him. “Me neither, although I should have, considering how you recently told Chen Le and Yangyang my suspicions-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your highness, who’s Chen Le and Yangyang?” Yuta whispered, considered. He knew all of Jisung’s contacts for safety reasons, so it was surprising to hear names that he didn’t recognize.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Instead of Hendery reacting negatively or defensively, he widened his eyes from curiosity. “You’ve talked to Yangyang and Chen Le recently?” he asked. “Is Yangyang better? He didn’t fall but he did faint for a bit the other day.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was weird that Hendery wasn’t going to say anything about snitching to those two, but Jisung was more confused on how he was asking about Yangyang. “Yangyang didn’t seem in pain yesterday when I saw them,” Jisung admitted truthfully. “It was actually Chen Le, he got hit in the shin with a hoe thanks to Yangyang.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>a bit clumsy,” Hendery muttered to himself.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That’s when Jisung realized - Hendery wasn’t hiding something by dodging the question. No, it almost looked like he was speaking </span>
  <em>
    <span>fondly </span>
  </em>
  <span>about Yangyang. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you enjoying your trip here in Korea right now?” Jisung asked him, curious. “Any wonderful people you met?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, definitely,” Hendery said. “I’ve been thinking of spending a few days here in SM Town, if I am honest, granted, if you and the royal family don’t mind. I didn’t come here to create conflict, your honor.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Again, like Jisung said earlier - his suspicions were not being cleared. But like Yuta said, he didn’t believe that the Chinese royal family was behind the assassination attempt. And Yuta was always right. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung gave Hendery a small smile. “I see no trouble,” he said. “There’s a lot of wonderful stuff to find in this town.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>During the entirety of breakfast, Johnny noticed that Donghyuck hadn’t spoken to him </span>
  <em>
    <span>once. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To be fair, Donghyuck didn’t speak much during breakfast, just handing Mark food here or there, since the latter was too polite to request anything. He also answered any small questions that Xiaojun would ask him, those types of small talk people always did. Other than that… nothing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny shouldn’t have been surprised - Donghyuck has been really quiet these past two years, keeping to himself, but he would at least talk to </span>
  <em>
    <span>him. </span>
  </em>
  <span>They were brothers, after all, not strangers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck had been a bit more social since they came here, in Johnny’s opinion, but it was probably due to Donghyuck’s intense curiosity about everything. His need to explore big, unknown places was never satisfied since he never did anything. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After breakfast, when Donghyuck finished helping wash the dishes, he went back to the guest room that he and Johnny were sharing at the moment, ready to spend the day locked inside. The usual. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Haechan, where are you going?” Johnny said, calling after him. He was the only one who used the nicknames they were supposed to be using during their stay here; no one else paid attention to it. “Hyuck!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m tired, let me </span>
  <em>
    <span>read</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Donghyuck said, shrugging. “My mouth hurts too much to talk anyways,” he lied, closing the room door shut.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yesterday, Johnny had caught Donghyuck and that Mark superhuman thing eating a dessert that they apparently made, and while Johnny </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>want to scold Donghyuck about it, the dessert, or more importantly, what it </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>caught his eye. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He remembers his mom always making it in the past, but Johnny never had the urge to really eat them; it was just a fancy way of making an apple pie, in his opinion. He didn’t like apple pies when he was a kid, not even the ones Taeil did (not that they were bad, of course - this is Taeil we’re talking about), but he couldn’t help but regret not trying at least one of his mother’s desserts before she passed away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yeah, maybe Donghyuck was in a sad mood because of that. Or maybe because Johnny yelled at him for being too close to Mark again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s good that Donghyuck likes to read,” Xiaojun said, interrupting Johnny’s thoughts. “You never really read in school.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny glared at him, scoffing. “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>totally </span>
  </em>
  <span>read in school,” he said, trying to think of the last book he had read. “I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>stupid.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, you never read,” Xiaojun said again. “You always told me how you hated it and wished Donghyuck would read more instead of playing games all the time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Huh. That sounds like something Johnny would have said. “He doesn’t really play games,” Johnny admitted. “He just… does his own thing, I guess. Maybe I’m too old for him or something.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xiaojun shook his head, stacking some clean plates to put away. “Nah, he just looks lonely,” he said. “It’s obvious, I don’t recall you ever mentioning at least one friend that he has.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He </span>
  <em>
    <span>totally </span>
  </em>
  <span>has friends,” Johnny pointed out. “He has Doyoung, he has Taeil-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Johnny, those are </span>
  <em>
    <span>your </span>
  </em>
  <span>friends,” Xiaojun said. “You have them, you have me, you have Ten, you have Si Cheng, and Donghyuck doesn’t have any. How is he supposed to be social?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny glanced back at the hallway, where Donghyuck had shut himself inside the room. “He can make friends,” he muttered. “Donghyuck can </span>
  <em>
    <span>totally </span>
  </em>
  <span>make friends.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can’t make PASTA!!!” Jaemin screeched, frantically searching for a wooden spoon. “It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>burning</span>
  </em>
  <span>-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Renjun grabbed the spoon in front of him and stirred the pasta twice before setting it down again. “The water is barely boiling,” he said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong glazed at Jaehyun, who was busy working at his desk despite being the crack of dawn. “I thought pasta wasn’t breakfast food?” he asked the two. “Usually Jaehyun has some french toast sticks.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s not, I’m just in the mood for fettuccine,” Renjun said. “Did you get the sour cream, Jaemin?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes I did, matter of fact, I got </span>
  <em>
    <span>extra </span>
  </em>
  <span>so that we can eat tacos for dinner,” Jaemin said proudly. “I even invited Jeno over. His favorites are chorizo but no cilantro because everyone in this country is a wimp- hey, Taeyong, tell Jaehyun dinner will be ready soon,” Jaemin told him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Renjun frowned. “The pasta is </span>
  <em>
    <span>literally </span>
  </em>
  <span>uncooked.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Keyword, </span>
  <em>
    <span>soon</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Renjun,” Jaemin said. “You tell Jaehyun soon and he shows up an hour later, might as well tell him ahead of time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong opened one of the small cabinets, pulling out a jar. “Jaehyun needs to eat something, though,” he said. “Knowing him, he’s going to complain about not being hungry.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He pulled out a couple of biscuits that he had made the night before and wrapped them in a cheesecloth, hoping Jaemin would eat some. Something small was better than nothing, after all. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“At this rate, you have to force food down his throat,” Renjun said, shrugging. “Kind of weird, since he’s always preaching about healthy habits and whatnot.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s easier to give advice than to follow it,” Jaemin agreed before his eyes started bulging. “It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>sticking </span>
  </em>
  <span>again!!!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jaemin, it’s NOT-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong grabbed the wrapped biscuits and headed over to where Jaehyun was sitting, clearly his throat softly to get the other’s attention. “I brought you something to eat, sir,” he said, setting it on the desk in front of Jaehyun. “You shouldn’t go hungry.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun looked up, grinning when he saw Taeyong. “Hey,” he said, looking back down to what he was working on - he had been screwing some stuff together. “I’ll eat in a bit, I’m almost done, anyways-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Um, sir,” Taeyong said slowly. “...This isn’t good for you, you know. It’s important that you eat something.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun looked up again, confused. “I’m good, really,” he said. “Don’t worry about me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong didn’t break eye contact with him for a few seconds, almost as if he froze. “Fine,” he said. “Whenever and whatever you eat, I eat as well-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you really shouldn’t- Taeyong, that’s not valid, you know bodies are all made differently and require different amounts of nutrients,” Jaehyun said, standing up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know that,” Taeyong said. He did know that, having always paid attention to whatever Jaehyun taught him. “But… I’m worried about you, okay?” he said. “And you don’t seem to understand that and it makes me really frustrated.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong turned around and left the room quickly, leaving Jaehyun to run after him. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Bookworm</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>yello its been a while (ive had a lot going on, im sorry). hope you like this chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Donghyuck, true to his word, </span>
  <em>
    <span>did </span>
  </em>
  <span>spend his time reading books all day, lying down on the bed as he held the book above him, ignoring how tired his arms were getting. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was so engrossed in his reading for what must have been at </span>
  <em>
    <span>least </span>
  </em>
  <span>two hours that he almost missed someone knocking on the door, calling out his name. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Disoriented from reality a bit, Donghyuck set his book down beside him and sat up, rubbing his eyes from staring at pages for too long. “What happened?” he yelled, yawning. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He heard someone ask, “May I come in?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh, right, the superhuman. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck nodded for a second before realizing that Mark wasn’t in the room with him. “Yeah, go ahead,” he said, yawning again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The door opened slowly, Mark poking in his head. “I think your older brother is worried about you,” he said quietly, as if Johnny were to hear them. “Are you okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I mean-” Donghyuck picked up his book and waved it. “I told him I was reading. I don’t know when he interpreted that to be miserable, but he has issues, I think.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark didn’t say anything for a few seconds, merely blinking in response. “Are you miserable?” he asked finally. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck glared at him. “Uh, what’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>supposed to mean?” he asked. “Don’t tell me I look miserable.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s not that, it’s just-” Mark scratched the back of his neck, cheeks flustered. “I mean, your brother must know you better, it’s why I’m asking.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh. That makes sense, Donghyuck supposed. “Well, he </span>
  <em>
    <span>acts </span>
  </em>
  <span>like he knows me,” Donghyuck insisted. “Johnny is such an oddball, don’t listen to him. He worries about the dumbest stuff.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark nodded in understanding. The fact that he probably hasn’t even been alive for probably more than one month, Donghyuck assumed, yet showed more emotion than Doyoung was really interesting-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hey, no wonder things have been feeling weird lately. Doyoung wasn’t around to forced him to do aegyo. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He would take that tortue over this </span>
  <em>
    <span>any </span>
  </em>
  <span>day. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know what?” Donghyuck said, standing up from the bed. “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>am </span>
  </em>
  <span>miserable, all because Johnny decided to panic over </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing</span>
  </em>
  <span>. So I was being choked to death by you, </span>
  <em>
    <span>big </span>
  </em>
  <span>deal.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark frowned. “Excuse me, I did </span>
  <em>
    <span>what?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>tried </span>
  </em>
  <span>to murder me?” Donghyuck reminded him. “Do you… </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>not remember?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark remained quiet, and for a split second Donghyuck wondered if he accidentally made the robot - sorry, </span>
  <em>
    <span>superhuman</span>
  </em>
  <span> - short circuit (that’s the mechanical version of having an existential crisis, right?) until Mark spoke again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was created for good,” Mark said finally. “By the royal scientist Jung Jaehyun. I don’t understand why I would be controlled for harm.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, why would you be controlled?” Donghyuck asked him. “That’s- that’s creepy, not gonna lie.” </span>
  <span></span>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>He didn’t know how much he could tell Donghyuck. “It’s just the way I was made,” Mark explained. “But when I am controlled, those memories are stored in the control panel, which your brother ripped out of me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blame Johnny for being an idiot. “Yeah, that might be a bummer,” Donghyuck agreed. “So… you can’t tell me why you wanted to murder me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Unfortunately,” Mark finished. “And whatever it was… I really do apologize.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck shrugged. If it weren’t for Mark for trying to kill him </span>
  <em>
    <span>twice</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Johnny wouldn’t have overreacted and taken him practically to the other side of the whole entire world. (Or, to the countryside, whatever.) “Eh, bad people exist,” he said. “And it’s not like your lying, I’ve seen the wires in your eyes. Hey, doesn’t that hurt, by the way?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark shook his head. “No, my cells were grown around it,” he explained. “They’re a part of me, so my immune system doesn’t detect them to be dangerous.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sounds creepy,” Donghyuck said. “Not to sound like an idiot, but I don’t really know much about engineering, only from these kits Johnny would bring me every now and then, but they’re, like, basic compared to, I don’t know, creating a whole human from </span>
  <em>
    <span>scratch</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>a complicated process,” Mark said, fighting the urge to laugh. “But… I like to believe that a lot of things are possible.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck thought of his parents, remembering the apple roses his mother used to make him. “Most things, anyways,” he muttered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t hear Mark say anything, so he looked up, only to notice Mark stepping closer to him. “I hope you don’t continue to be miserable,” he said quietly. “I don’t like seeing you like this.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck rolled his eyes at first. This Mark person… thing… superhuman… was just as weird as his brother. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>However, he couldn’t help but appreciate the gesture, even if it was essentially meaningless. “Thanks, Mark,” he said. “That means a lot.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Today is a </span>
  <em>
    <span>new </span>
  </em>
  <span>day, Chen Le!” Yangyang said excitedly, clapping his hands together. “We should try to find more worms.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Today, Xiaojun asked them if they could spend an hour or so picking any ripe vegetables in his garden, so that’s what they were going to do. Yangyang, however, </span>
  <em>
    <span>clearly </span>
  </em>
  <span>had different plans. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think you should move the soil around too much,” Chen Le said, trying to think of all of the wisdom he heard grandmothers in the markets say to each other over the years. “The roots are, well, rooted in the ground and you might move it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yangyang made an exaggerated sad face. “I really wanted to see a worm today,” he mumbled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yangyang, it’s gardening, we’re bound to see a worm at one point.” Chen Le grabbed one of the woven baskets that they had grabbed to put in the vegetables and handed it to Yangyang. “Come on, we get stuff to pick.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Promise that we’ll see a worm?” Yangyang asked him, putting the basket on his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chen Le sighed. “Yes, Yangyang, I promise we’ll see a worm,” he told his best friend. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ooh, ooh, what if we see PRINCE HENDERY TODAY?!” Yangyang yelled, skipping around with the basket covering his eyes. “He’s so cool-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Normally, Chen Le would deny it, saying it was already unlikely for them to have meant any royals in their life once, much less twice, but considering how he’s already seen Prince Jisung twice… now </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>was insane and honestly a bit creepy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yangyang, you can’t even see with the basket on your head,” Chen Le pointed out.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yangyang turned to stare at him - well, it would have been staring if he could see Chen Le. “I actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>like </span>
  </em>
  <span>this basket on my head, thank you very much,” he said. “Plus, I look really rad in it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Figuring Yangyang wasn’t going to take the basket off his head, Chen Le grabbed two more, one for him to use and one for Yangyang to </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>use as a hat. “It </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>made out of bamboo,” Chen Le said. “You do have a point.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s cause I’m smart,” Yangyang said, skipping to where the tomato plants were, watching the ground beneath him to figure out where to go. “Man, I don’t remember the last time I’ve had any bamboo shoots.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chen Le walked behind him slowly, taking his time. “Me neither,” he said as well. “Though maybe soon we can buy a few with our gold coins.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And maybe have a pet worm!” Yangyang said, picking up speed, as he was really desperate to see a worm. “Man, I love worms.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At that moment, Chen Le could see a man approaching Yangyang, waving at him, all dressed in fancy clothing, and although he looked familiar, he couldn’t exactly pinpoint it, but he swore, if it was another royal-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yangyang, still having the basket on his head, unintentionally changed his direction and was now sprinting towards the man, not knowing the guy was there. “-and I’m going to name my pet worm Eleven- FUCK!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chen Le picked up his pace but was too late to warn Yangyang, who now fell over the stranger, the two falling down together on the ground, and now that Chen Le was a bit closer, he could see that the man was- oh, </span>
  <em>
    <span>hell </span>
  </em>
  <span>no-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Prince Hendery, aka the prince of the </span>
  <em>
    <span>China Kingdom</span>
  </em>
  <span>, was now on the floor, Yangyang on top of him, basket still on his head and with no clue of what just happened. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yangyang lifted his basket-covered head from Hendery’s chest, staring down. “I think I’m going to faint-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hendery slowly took the basket off of Yangyang’s head, now meeting his eyes. “I would </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>appreciate it if you didn’t faint right now,” he said, brushing a strand of Yangyang’s hair away from his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When their eyes met, Yangyang froze, gripping tightly onto Hendery’s shirt. To be fair, Yangyang was on top of him- </span>
  <em>
    <span>oh my god, he was on top of him</span>
  </em>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yangyang!” The two of them turned their heads to see Chen Le running up to them, out of breath. “And you! Again?! Are you and Prince Jisung trying to murder us or something-"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, no! I just- I just came to say hello!” Hendery said, trying to defend himself. “And I was sure the fellow under the basket was Yangyang-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yangyang stared at the ground in front of him. “I’m either dreaming or I’m really going to faint-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Please don’t, I would hate to see you injured,” Hendery said, still beneath him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think- oh my god, I’m so sorry, your highness!” Yangyang said, scrambling to get off of Hendery. “I really didn’t mean to fall on you, I just- I couldn’t see-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, you’re perfectly fine!” Hendery said, looking dejected when Yangyang got off him. “It was my fault, I saw you and I knew you had a basket on your head- oh, speaking off which-” Hendery managed to get himself up, hands smothering over his pants as he tried to dust off any dirt off them (not that it mattered, there were permanent grass stains on them.) “Are you busy at the moment?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yangyang picked up the fallen basket on the ground and held it closer to his chest, glancing behind him to see a confused Chen Le before speaking up. “I- me and my best friend were going to go pick up tomatoes!” he said, bowing down, refusing to look at Hendery in the eye. He couldn’t help but steal a peak, though. “And I wanted to find some worms.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hendery tilted his head, confused. “Worms, you say?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Chen Le had </span>
  <em>
    <span>no </span>
  </em>
  <span>idea what type of tension was going on between Yangyang and Hendery, thinking Yangyang’s inner fanboy was just having an existential crisis, so he decided to help ease some of the tension. “Yangyang and I are helping someone do gardening, Prince Hendery,” Chen Le explained. “It’s how we planned to spend our morning.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hendery nodded in understanding. “Sure, I- I mean, gardening is wonderful, a necessary hobby,” he said, muttering to himself. “Mind if I help?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey, hey, hey, Taeyong, where are you going?” Jaehyun said. “Taeyong!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong had run into the smaller room and was </span>
  <em>
    <span>just </span>
  </em>
  <span>about to close the door on Jaehyun when the latter managed to reach the door. “Sir,  please leave me alone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, Taeyong, calm down-” Jaehyun insisted, entering the room with Taeyong and closing the door behind them. “Look, I’m- I’m sorry, okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry about </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Taeyong mumbled, covering his stomach with his arms. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun had never seen Taeyong this visibly upset. “I didn’t mean to, I guess, what’s the word… look, I know it’s not excusable, I know I’m and I know eating isn’t really on my mind,” he explained, “but you </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>don’t have to worry about me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong looked away. “But I </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>worry about you,” he mumbled. “And you don’t get that."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now Jaehyun was getting curious, despite being taken aback. “What do you mean worry?” he asked him, making his voice quieter to not provoke Taeyong. “Worry about what?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong didn’t say anything, rubbing his hands over his arms. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>…. “Taeyong?” Jaehyun asked again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m worried about losing you,” Taeyong said finally. “Lee-eun makes threats to you and- and then we have to think about what will happen to you when the royal family finds out about the situation and then your health and I- I just </span>
  <em>
    <span>can’t, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Jung Jaehyun.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun nodded, scratching the back of his head. “Taeyong,” he said after a few seconds of silence. “I didn’t put you here on this Earth to serve me or to worry about me, I just-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>because you created me,” Taeyong whispered. “It’s not. I just love you, Jaehyun and I don’t want anything to happen to you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I just love you</span>
  </em>
  <span>,</span>
  <em>
    <span> Jaehyun</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun didn’t look at Taeyong, instead, stepping forward to grab his hand slowly. “Say that again,” Jaehyun whispered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong looked up to look at him. “Say what again?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The I love you part,” Jaehyun said, feeling how fast his heart was beating in his chest. “That you mean it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked up to see Taeyong stare at him, confused. “Why wouldn’t I mean I love you?” Taeyong asked softly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun pulled Taeyong’s hand closer to him, leaning in. “I don’t know,” he answered truthfully. “I just don’t want to doubt it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong stayed silent for a few seconds before speaking again. “I love you,” he repeated. “And… I think I’m always going to worry-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At that point, Jaehyun kept leaning in forward, and Taeyong had a feeling he knew what Jaehyun was going to do since he always heard Jaemin tell him and Renjun stories involving romance, but it was still different when it was happening to </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He instinctively closed his eyes when Jaehyun was a good three inches away from him, and he softly felt a pair of lips on his own.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong leaned in as well, instantly feeling the kiss deepen, and he didn’t open his eyes when he felt Jaehyun pull away slowly, his intense hearing allowing him to hear how fast their heart rates have increased-</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The door of the room slammed open. “SIR, I’M BURNING THE PASTA!” Jaemin yelled at the two. “SIR- Woah, what?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Both Jaehyun and Taeyong widened their eyes and pulled away, startled by the sudden intruder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Renjun appeared behind Jaemin. “I told him it wasn’t burning and he’s not listening to me,” he said. “I think dinner will be ready in ten, we should probably set the table.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>lets talk about taeyong wanting centipedes</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. We’re all Hiding Something</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“I’m going to repeat this one more time,” Yuta said to Prince Jisung. “You’re not going.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung rolled his eyes at the guard. “I know what you said the first time,” he said. “And I’m choosing to ignore it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>got </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be- your highness.” Yuta gave Jisung one of his fake, forced smiles that he often used around petty nobles who wanted to talk to the prince. “You </span>
  <em>
    <span>don’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>want to risk your life while there are potential rebels causing treason and wanting to assassinate you and your family, do you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung pouted, sitting down on the chair in his room at the inn. “It’s not fair,” he muttered. “I want to see him.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yuta raised an eye, crossing his arms over his chest. “Excuse me, who’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span>?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ch- no one,” Jisung said, stopping himself. “It’s no one important, hehe.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His bodyguard didn’t say anything, turning around to face the mirror in the room, where he could see their reflections. “Is it the one who you gave tea?” he said. “The person who you mentioned to Prince Hendery when we saw him?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh, sweet sprinkles, Jisung had forgotten about that incident. “Well,” he started to explain. “You see- fuck it, yeah.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That surprised Yuta momentarily. The royal family was not supposed to be using foul language and they rarely used it, much less Jisung, the young prince. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After a short silence, Yuta spoke up again. “Do you like him?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No!” Jisung interjected, standing up again. “I don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>like </span>
  </em>
  <span>him, he’s just- he’s just an interesting fellow, I assume,” he trailed off. “I don’t fancy him in that way if that’s what you’re implying.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not implying </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I’m just asking,” Yuta corrected him. “I don’t think you recall, your highness, but I’ve been your personal guard for some time now, and I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know </span>
  </em>
  <span>you don’t see people regularly, so this is quite honestly the first time you're begging me to let you see someone.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Which is </span>
  <em>
    <span>why </span>
  </em>
  <span>you should let me go on my own,” Jisung pleaded again. “Like you said, my life is at risk, and I don’t want you to be involved.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t want to- your royal highness, that is my </span>
  <em>
    <span>job</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Yuta reminded him. “To save </span>
  <em>
    <span>your </span>
  </em>
  <span>life. Why would I not follow you somewhere dangerous? Which, again, you </span>
  <em>
    <span>still </span>
  </em>
  <span>shouldn’t be making public appearances that often anyways. “</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung played with the sleeve of his shirt. “I just want to see him and get to know him a little,” he mumbled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yuta sighed. “Look,” he explained. “You’re still the prince and I am to obey you, so at the end of the day, you can still ignore my suggestion-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Now you’re just making me feel guilty,” Jisung said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yuta squinted his eyes at the younger. “You’re not happy with anything.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>true</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I- look,” Yuta pinched the bridge of his nose, forcing himself to take a deep breath. “If you hide two more daggers than usual we can go.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yangyang grabbed a tiny dandelion that was on the floor. “Oh, no, this must have been ripped sometime ago,” he said, clutching the tiny weed in his hand. “Poor little thing.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Prince Hendery, who was kneeling on the ground besides Yangyang, reached out his hand. “May I?” he asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cupping the fragile weed with both hands, Yangyang handed into to Hendery’s palm. “Be careful with it!” he warned the prince. “It’s a delicate flower that deserves respect.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why, of course,” Hendery said, staring at the weed in his hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Without thinking, brushed some of Yangyang’s hair behind his ear and placed the flower there, brushing some more strands away. “There you go.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yangyang didn’t say anything, smiling as he patted down the soil on the Earth. “Thanks.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“CHEN LE, YANGYANG!” Both Hendery and Yangyang looked up to see Xiaojun outside of the porch, calling for them. “I have dinner!! You guys don’t have to work the whole day, you know!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, that’s Xiaojun, the guy who lives here!” Yangyang explained to Hendery. “Since me and Chen Le are homeless, he’s letting us stay here if we help him with his plants.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hendery frowned. “H-homeless?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yangyang shrugged. “Yeah, as in the streets,” he explained. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I- your friend told me you were orphans but…” Hendery trailed off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “It’s in the past,” Yangyang said cheerfully. “All that matters is that Chen Le and I are alive, right?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before Hendery could say something in response, he could see Chen Le come up behind Yangyang, clapping his hand on the latter’s shoulder. “Yangyang, Xiaojun is calling for us.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I forgot about Xiaojun!” he exclaimed, getting up from the ground. “Hendery, you should meet Xiaojun, he’s really nice and he’s also Chinese! I think he also speaks Cantonese, right Chen Le? Prince Hendery here says he knows Cantonese."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, cause the royal family has to know a lot of languages, Yangyang,” Chen Le said, pulling Yangyang’s arm. “Come on, I’m hungry for dinner.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah, dinner!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yangyang let Chen Le pull his arm towards the house towards where Xiaojun was standing outside, leaving Hendery in a very awkward position of whether to follow or stay back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On one hand, no one knew the Chinese prince was here; he had lied to his bodyguards about meeting familiar friends and came here to see if Yangyang would be here again, which he was to his delight. If word were to get out that he had been here alone and it reached his father…</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On the other hand, he still did not wish to part with Yangyang for the day just yet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ignoring the rational side of his brain, Hendery jogged up to Yangyang until he reached up, continuing the conversation. “Do you like this fellow that you’ve been staying with?” he asked him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, Xiaojun’s really cool,” Yangyang said, Chen Le still pulling his arm; Chen Le didn’t make much effort to make conversation with Hendery, only being polite when talked to. Plus, it was obvious that Hendery had some type of weird feeling for Yangyang. “He gave us good soup the other day, I love it. Ah, Chen Le, I forgot to ask him the name of the dish.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can ask him later,” Chen Le reminded him. “I’m sure he’ll give it to you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At that moment, they reached up closer to the porch, where Xiaojun saw them. “Oh, Chen Le, Yangyang- holy </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck-</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ah. Hendery had forgotten that he was a common face among the public. Though… this was a different Kingdom, though. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Xiaojun, this is Prince Hendery, he was helping us outside!” Yangyang exclaimed, pointing at Hendery besides him. “He’s really nice-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He-</span>
  <em>
    <span>helping</span>
  </em>
  <span>?!” Xiaojun shouted. “Your- oh fuck, ah shit, I didn’t mean to- your </span>
  <em>
    <span>highness-”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We can drop the formalities,” Hendery said quickly, hoping Xiaojun wasn’t going to faint like how Yangyang has in the past. “Huang Guanheng, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” he added, bowing down. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh- uh, nice to meet you too!” Xiaojun said, bowing down frantically as well. Even though Hendery wasn’t the prince of their kingdom, he was still a prince regardless, of the country of Xiaojun’s descent as well. “It’s- it’s an honor, sir.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hendery straightened his back up, nodding at Xiaojun. “I have heard good things about you from these two,” he said. “I really appreciate it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xiaojun’s face was getting red. “It’s- it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>completely </span>
  </em>
  <span>fine, I think they exaggerate-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re, like, the only one who’s bothered to help us in our entire life, Xiaojun,” Chen Le spoke up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh- oh, your highness, did you bring people with you here?” Xiaojun asked, changing the subject. Yes, he liked helping people but he </span>
  <em>
    <span>hated </span>
  </em>
  <span>accepting compliments and praises. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hendery frowned. “No, I- I came alone,” he explained. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A-</span>
  <em>
    <span>alone</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Xiaojun asked in disbelief. Since when do royals travel alone without bodyguards?? Shouldn’t Hendery of all people know about the recent assassination attempt on the Korean royal family??</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then who was the noble who got out of the carriage a little far ahead? It was getting dark, so Xiaojun couldn’t see that far and see the person’s face.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, we were with Hendery all day,” Yangyang explained, titling his head. “Why, what’s wrong-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Chen Le?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The four of them turned around, though Hendery, being prepared and having recognized that voice, took out his long sword, surprising them as he pointed it at Park Jisung’s face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Apparently, he wasn’t the only one to think that way, as he caught himself staring at another sword in front of him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xiaojun’s eyes widened even further. “Prince- Prince </span>
  <em>
    <span>Jisung</span>
  </em>
  <span>?!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung didn’t say a word, his eyes solely focused on Hendery. “No means to hurt you, your Highness,” he said with caution. “But what are you doing here?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I could say the same to yourself,” Hendery replied, tightening his grip on his sword. “I don’t mean harm to them or your people, but you <em>did </em>startled me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two princes stared at each other, not breaking eye contact, when Chen Le spoke up. “Okay, is this you guys trying to prove dominance or something-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Chen Le!” Xiaojun harshly whispered to him, obviously not wanting to upset the two princes; he didn’t know that Chen Le had already met them. Multiple times. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At the mention of Chen Le, Jisung put down his sword to look at him. “Chen Le, I- uh, I came- I came here to look for you,” he stuttered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Um, what?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was a first. “Uh… that’s cool,” Chen Le said, hands behind his back. “Nice.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You guys are all </span>
  <em>
    <span>boring</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Yangyang said, ignoring the punch that Chen Le gave him on his arm. “Well, Prince Jisung, Xiaojun, we have been taking care of the plants and I found a lot of </span>
  <em>
    <span>worms</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yangyang does have a thing for worms,” Chen Le added. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your highness, may I request a moment with you?” Hendery said, stepping backwards a couple of steps. “In private?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung looked back to where his carriage had stopped, where his guard was leaning against it, watching him. “If you must,” he said, following wherever Hendery led him.</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny grabbed the nicest jacket that he owned that he brought with him and put it on. “I’ll be right back,” he said, looking for his shoes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck, who was at the table eating noodles, looked at him, quickly swallowing the noodles in his mouth. “Excuse me, what?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I said I’ll be back,” Johnny reiterated, making the I’m-watching-you signal to Mark, who was seated besides Donghyuck at the table. “If you hurt him, I’ll fucking kill you-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s the brother I know, all right,” Donghyuck mumbled before picking up some more noodles with his fork. “Look how high I can carry this, Mark-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny walked through the living room and opened the door, already knowing who was going to be at the front porch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ten didn’t bother to speak until Johnny closed the door behind him. “You didn’t even let me knock.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t have to,” Johnny said. “I’ve been anxiously checking the time.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course you have,” Ten muttered under his breath. Johnny had an obsession with checking the time if he knew he had something coming up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Back in Neo City, before Johnny left with Donghyuck, Ten promised to meet at Xiaojun’s address at exactly 10 PM today, even though he himself didn’t know where Xiaojun lived. All he had to do was ask around, though, and that had been easy to do. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny walked towards Ten, pressing a soft kiss on his lips. “I missed you,” he whispered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ten grinned, wrapping his arms around Johnny’s neck. “And so did I,” he said. “Man, I hate being busy, though.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, and I don’t really like being out here,” Johnny added. “But I can’t have anyone hurting Donghyuck, you know.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh, yeah, about that, how has your research been?” Ten asked him. “With you know, the robot.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny shrugged. “Not much. All I know is that he’s not a robot.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s- then what the fuck is he?” Ten crossed his arms, tilting his head in confusion. “Didn’t he have wires and enhanced abilities or some shit?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, he still has bones and blood and all that,” Johnny explained. “I think the term Donghyuck has been using is superhuman, which sounds fitting.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ten rolled his eyes, grinning as he looked away. “Your brother is </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely </span>
  </em>
  <span>more creative than you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny placed a hand over his chest. “You hurt me, you know that?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Crybaby,” Ten muttered. “Anyways, really? Nothing?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny nodded. “Yeah, not much, unfortunately. And, you know, it’s like I can tell anyone about him, you know.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, that’s true- WAIT!” Ten snapped his fingers at Johnny a couple of times. “FUCK! I- I think- do you know the royal scientist, Jung Jaehyun?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny frowned. “You’re going to ask him?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Duh, definitely!” Ten exclaimed. “The King gave him that position for a reason! But yeah, Jaehyun can help us, he knows everything, no doubt he’ll help, </span>
  <em>
    <span>especially </span>
  </em>
  <span>if it means finding out who is responsible for the attempted assassination on the King.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny nodded. “Yeah, sounds good- wait, everything?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, everything,” Ten repeated. “Why, what’s wrong?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Johnny looked back at the house. “He better not pry or bring up stuff that the government officials have access to in front of Donghyuck,” he whispered. “Like him being adopted.”</span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>sorry i took so long but im back!! i didnt mean to be on hiatus for too long, sorry</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Cues</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>yello!! sorry i was taking a while lol</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Do you want me to help you wash dishes?” Donghyuck asked Xiaojun, standing next to him in the kitchen. The latter was scrubbing intensely at a pot that was used for frying some vegetables. “I already cleaned the table.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xiaojun shook his head. He had come back inside after seeing that two different princes from two different kingdoms were on his porch, and the last thing he wanted was to ridicule himself outside. “Don’t worry, I’m good,” he said, grabbing another handful of homemade soap. “You can, uh, how would your brother say it… chill.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Please don’t use slang with him, that’s weird.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, okay, I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>sorry</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Xiaojun said, rolling his eyes while smiling. “Look, just do me a favor and get Kun for me, I guess, but yeah, feel free to do whatever, especially with Mark. He looks like he needs a friend.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck turned around to see Mark in the living room, staring out the window. The superhuman robot cyborg whatever thing… damn, he didn’t have a past or memory like the rest of them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mark’s cool,” Donghyuck said, which was true; he liked hanging out with the superhuman. “He’s nice and I can finally tell someone my jokes without them getting worried.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can what now-” Xiaojun set the pot down and turned to look at Donghyuck, who was already skipping away, arms behind his back. “I- this generation, I swear….”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck made his way to the living room, whistling at Mark. “Yo, do you see outside, it’s almost getting dark! We go outside and catch fireflies.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark turned to face Donghyuck once he realized the latter was speaking to him. “Oh, hey.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know, for someone who’s supposed to be a superhuman, you have bad social cues,” Donghyuck said, picking up a small glass jar that he had prepared earlier. It had a lid with holes on it so that the fireflies could live.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That was a problem with the four of us,” Mark mentioned. “If I recall correctly. Model R bit J- the assistant.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, wow, now I have to be wary of the teeth now, don’t I?” Donghyuck held the glass jar above his head. “I’d be more scared of someone biting metal.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck skipped his way back towards the kitchen, grabbing his jacket that he had left on the table with his free hand, still holding the glass jar. “Xiaojun, Mark and I are going to go outside-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“DO NOT go outside,” Xiaojun interrupted him, immediately turning around. He still had a plate with soap in his hands. “I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>begging </span>
  </em>
  <span>you, do not-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh… okay…” Donghyuck said slowly, stepping out of the kitchen backwards slowly. “Are you afraid I’m going to get murdered or something-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xiaojun bit his lip, turning back around to finish the dishes. “Yeah. That.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck sighed, heading back into the living room. “Forget about the fireflies,” he muttered, sitting next to Mark on the sofa. He tossed the glass jar from one hand to another, his jacket now forgotten besides him. “Might call it a night.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark blinked a couple of times. He heard what Xiaojun told Donghyuck in the kitchen, but the latter pulled a complete 180 on his sudden change of mood.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What do you want to know about fireflies?” Mark asked him suddenly, not knowing how to change his mood. Jaehyun didn’t teach him enough about this. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck raised an eye. “Do you have, like, an encyclopedia about them in your head?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh… I mean, the royal scientist put a huge database of information in my infrastructure,” Mark explained slowly, wondering if it was an insult. “But his assistant Jaemin found fireflies fascinating and would ramble about it while conducting tests on me-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Woah, woah, </span>
  <em>
    <span>tests</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Donghyuck asked, raising an eye. “What do you mean, tests? Tests for what?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark shrugged. “If I could detect concentrations, detect weight, my eyesight, just… I guess my capabilities, if you want to call it that.” He looked at Donghyuck, who was just staring at the jar in his hand. “They weren’t inhumane, if that’s what you were thinking.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I- well, I was hoping you would say that, not gonna lie,” Donghyuck said, looking at Mark’s hand. “Can you detect the composition of this?” he said, lifting the jar up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Glass is just molted sand,” Mark explained. “I mean, they could have added materials but I don’t think so…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>duh</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I knew that.” Donghyuck slouched against the couch, carelessly throwing the jar on his jacket besides him. “Well, tell me what you know about fireflies.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark cleared his throat. “They are in the Lampyridae family-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh my god, you can be </span>
  <em>
    <span>funny</span>
  </em>
  <span>?” Donghyuck asked, laughing. “Mark, you’re hilarious, I hope you know that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mark was taken aback, realizing that Donghyuck was complimenting him. “Is this me understanding social cues?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I think it’s you being a dork,” Donghyuck said, grinning. “Don’t worry Mark, I think you’re funny.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck, still smiling, grabbed his jacket besides him, playing with the sleeve, and Mark didn’t know why his heart felt like being tugged, but… he really did like that smile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I burned the pasta,” Jaemin admitted, staring at the perfect meal in front of him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Renjun glared at him. “If you say burned one more time, I </span>
  <em>
    <span>swear </span>
  </em>
  <span>I will burn something else-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But it’s true!!” Jaemin exclaimed, holding up a tiny black speck on his finger. Despite Renjun having better eyesight, he could barely see it. “What is </span>
  <em>
    <span>this, </span>
  </em>
  <span>then?? It’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>everywhere</span>
  </em>
  <span>!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“THAT’S BLACK PEPPER!” Renjun yelled at him. “IT’S NOT BURNED!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun grabbed the bottle of parmesan and held it out for Taeyong. “Here, you should try it with this,” he suggested. “Not a lot, but a little.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong hesitated, grabbing the bottle from Jaehyun slowly. “Is it good?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aren’t they acting weird to you?” Jaemin whispered to Renjun, even though the other two could hear him perfectly well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am </span>
  <em>
    <span>not </span>
  </em>
  <span>acting weird,” Jaehyun said, watching Taeyong who shaked the bottle twice on his pasta. “Yeah, that’s good enough.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, come on, you need to add a </span>
  <em>
    <span>lot </span>
  </em>
  <span>more to that,” Jaemin said. “You’ll barely taste anything!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Renjun made a disgusted face. Jaemin had him try parmesan earlier, and it almost made him want to throw up. “I think that’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>much </span>
  </em>
  <span>more than enough-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Right then, the bell started ringing, meaning that someone was waiting for them at the door.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“JENO!!” Jaemin screamed, jumping out of his chair as he ran towards the entrance. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, wait for me!” Renjun yelled after him, also getting out of his chair to follow him, leaving Jaehyun and Taeyong alone at the table. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong scooped up some of the pasta with his fork, making sure to get the parts with parmesan. Renjun and Jaemin had made fettuccine alfredo with shrimp, and Taeyong thought that it was delicious and wondered what the parmesan would do. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He took a bite, chewing on it slowly before swallowing. “It’s really good with parmesan!” he said, happily scooping up some more. “You were right.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jaehyun nodded, grabbing the parmesan bottle to pour some for himself. “Yeah, I like how it enhances it,” he said, adding a lot more of the cheese on his pasta than what Taeyong added. “Which is funny, because I don’t think I eat cheese that much, to be honest.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong, who was in mid-chew, swallowed again to respond to Jaehyun. “It just depends on what you eat it with,” he said. “Aren’t there, like, more than 300 cheeses?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, there’s a whole shit ton,” Jaehyun agreed. “It’s, like, insane.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The two stopped talking when they heard a squealing Jaemin who was no doubt embracing a poor Jeno at the moment, with Renjun yelling at him to have a turn hugging Jeno. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong, who was scooping up another bite, paused. “Jaehyun, you keep- nevermind.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hmmh?” Jaehyun asked, out of his daze. He had been too focused on staring at Taeyong. “What’s wrong, what am I doing?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You-” Taeyong let his fork drop, rubbing his cheeks which were getting warm. “Nothing. I’m- I’m just feeling… self-conscious.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Self- self-conscious?” Jaehyun asked. “Why?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong reached for his glass of water that he poured for himself earlier, taking a long swig before setting the glass back down on the table. “You’re just… looking at me, I guess, and I keep thinking about earlier.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oh, right, what happened earlier. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To be fair, Jaehyun </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>been feeling uneasy these days. Thanks to him, there had been an assasination attempt on the king, and Jaehyun has been pressured to have it not get it, since not only </span>
  <em>
    <span>he </span>
  </em>
  <span>would get affected, but also Jaemin, Renjun and Taeyong. He didn’t know if he was coming off as rude or not to him, but it definitely wasn’t malicious.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Though, hearing Taeyong say he was worried about him, that he cared about him, that he </span>
  <em>
    <span>loved </span>
  </em>
  <span>him… it did things to Jaehyun.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He really wanted to kiss him again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you… regret it?” Jaehyun asked slowly, not wanting Taeyong to feel uneasy. They haven’t spoken to each other about the incident, since Jaemin and Renjun came to say the food was ready. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What? No, no, no!” Taeyong waved his hands in front of him. “I, uh, um… sorry, I just don’t want to ruin anything or make you hate me, I guess-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Taeyong.” Jaehyun scooted his plate back to cross his arms over the table, looking at Taeyong. “I… I </span>
  <em>
    <span>really </span>
  </em>
  <span>doubt I could ever hate you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But you might,” Taeyong whispered. He stared at his own plate in front of him, pushing some of the pasta around. “If...  Lee-eun continues with his plan and controls us again…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry about it,” Jaehyun said. He wrapped his hand around Taeyong’s arm, rubbing soothing circles on it. “I’m thinking about how to deal with him, don’t worry about it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But- but what if he has you control us again and we have to kill someone or- or you and-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong didn’t finish his sentence, as Jaehyun pressed their lips together without a warning, Taeyong instantly reacting to it, kissing him back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It only lasted for a few seconds until Jaehyun pulled away. “Honestly, at his rate, you can kill me and I’ll say thank you,” Jaehyun whispered to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong widened his eyes. “What- why would you thank me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I mean- it’s just an expression,” Jaehyun explained. “But, I mean, if you do, it’s not because you wanted to, I wouldn’t hate you because of it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Taeyong nodded. “I- I mean, that’s true, I guess, I would never hurt you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Me neither,” Jaehyun said, letting go of Taeyong’s arm. He picked up his fork again, stabbing a piece of shrimp. “We have to stop Lee-eun, I’ll make sure of it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>***</span>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>They stepped a good few yards away from the two Chinese friends, who remained talking to themselves, watching as the two princes stepped away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Both princes have their hands on their swords, not as a symbol of hostility towards the other, but a step of precaution. Despite being friendly, neither of them had forgotten that their respective countries were not in good terms with each other. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What did you wish to speak to me about?” Prince Jisung asked Prince Hendery. The latter had asked to speak with him privately, and unfortunately, Jisung did not know what he wanted to talk to him about. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hendery took another glance at the two Chinese friends. “I hope this doesn’t seem like a personal question,” he started. “And I </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>remember that this is your land, but, may I ask… what </span>
  <em>
    <span>exactly </span>
  </em>
  <span>do you know about their origins?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung raised an eye. “Uh… do you mean those two?” he asked. “Not the exact specifics, but some. How much do </span>
  <em>
    <span>you </span>
  </em>
  <span>know?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I… know enough, I suppose,” Hendery muttered. He removed his hand on his sword besides him and crossed his arms, looking at the ground for a moment as if in thought. “But, anyways, do you know anything about how your orphanages are one? I’m not criticizing you or anything, I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>sure </span>
  </em>
  <span>you have your own matters to worry about-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, did you say- you said… </span>
  <em>
    <span>orphanages?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Jisung repeated. “What… what exactly are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>proposing </span>
  </em>
  <span>your highness?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hendery sighed. “They said they were kicked out of my country’s orphanages at a young age, which startles me. I want to get to the bottom of that, no child deserves to be on the streets.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jisung nodded, stuffing his hands into pants pockets. “I will admit, I… I know I am the heir,” he stated, “but I am not really, how can you say… </span>
  <em>
    <span>exposed </span>
  </em>
  <span>to such types of matters in my father’s kingdom, and although a lot of the general public think I play an important role in royal affairs, my opinion isn’t often that valuable.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s mildly excruciating,” Hendery muttered under his breath. “I know you guys have different customs and such, but I didn’t know </span>
  <em>
    <span>how </span>
  </em>
  <span>different, your highness.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, it’s just- well, I’ve been trying to do some reports on my own time,” Jisung added. “But I don’t make it public knowledge.” He paused. “I’m hoping that I can trust you, Prince Hendery. These days, I don’t know who to trust.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>it's getting towards the end of the book and (if you guys read my other books you know what i'm about to say)... i was thinking of turning this into a series (IM SORRY). the sequel wont be main markhyuck but they are still going to be important characters, and i have some ideas for it? but it probably wont be until a good while after this book end. (maybe a few months afterwards? I have to daydream a LOT). what do you guys think?</p><p>also, this book wont end in a cliffhanger, so if you guys dont want to continue reading (especially if its not ships you stan) its totally fine! I get it, im just asking for opinions lol. I have a hard time letting go of my characters :(</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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